Method for defining road networks

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are systems and methods relating to defining a road network used by vehicles for movement and/or parking. A classifier may be employed for identifying portions of the road network via machine learning techniques and processing of historical telematic data.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/535,527, filed Aug. 8, 2019, titled “Intelligent Telematics System For Providing Traffic Metrics”, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, and which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Application Ser. No. 62/829,539, filed Apr. 4, 2019, titled “Intelligent Telematics System For Providing Traffic Metrics”, which is also herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Traffic data collection and analysis are routinely conducted by road agencies, for example, government organizations responsible for traffic management, road maintenance and/or road network planning. Road agencies may obtain measurements of traffic metrics, (e.g., traffic performance), from traffic data, to understand current traffic conditions at a roadway section of interest, such as a portion of a road or a traffic junction—a location where multiple roads intersect, allowing traffic to change from one road to another (e.g., intersection, roundabout, interchange). Traffic metrics are generally used to ascertain an existing, or to predict a future, need of changes to roadway infrastructure and/or traffic control equipment. Examples of traffic metrics include traffic volume, average vehicle speed, vehicle delay, among others.

Modifications to a roadway network may result from traffic metrics related to traffic flow, driving behaviour, or another traffic/driver information. For example, to increase traffic flow at a heavily congested roadway section an additional lane(s) may be added, to reduce wait times at an intersection control signal timing may be modified, and to deter speeding on a portion of road a traffic calming device, (e.g., a speed bump), may be installed.

Various data collection techniques are employed for collecting traffic data. A first technique includes employment of manual counters positioned near a roadway section of interest, (i.e., people observing traffic, then measuring and manually recording vehicle movement.) For instance, to collect traffic data related to interruption of traffic flow at an intersection, a person/people may time the duration each vehicle is stopped prior to entering the intersection. Such a method is manually intensive and prone to human error.

Another technique for collecting traffic data includes use of sensing equipment. For example, movement sensors, (e.g., pneumatic tubes, video cameras), are temporarily and/or permanently installed near a roadway section of interest to sense vehicle movement and collect traffic data. This technique requires the purchase or rental, installation, and potentially maintenance, of sensing equipment. Extracting traffic data from video footage necessitates image processing which is usually complex and resource intensive.

Yet another technique for collecting traffic data includes use of a GPS tracker device installed onboard a vehicle. Traffic data collected via this technique is limited to the data collected by the particular devices, thus multiple passes through a roadway section of interest are needed to gather a sufficient amount of data for the data to be meaningful. Once collected, data from the devices must be uploaded for analysis/processing.

SUMMARY

According to a first broad aspect there is a method for defining a road network comprising: partitioning a road network area into a plurality of contiguous second subzones for defining a road network zone, selecting vehicle data indicative of vehicle operating conditions for a plurality of vehicles corresponding to the road network zone, for each of the plurality of contiguous second subzones, generating a plurality of features based on the vehicle data, generating unlabelled data including the plurality of features for each of the plurality of contiguous second subzones, processing the unlabelled data by a classifier generated using at least one machine learning technique for classifying each second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones as one of a portion of a vehicle way and not a portion of a vehicle way, forming classification data indicative of a classification of each of the plurality of contiguous second subzones, processing the classification data for determining a geographic location of the road network and defining the road network including generating data indicative of the geographic location of the road network.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating data indicative of the geographic location of the road network comprising generating data indicative of geographic boundaries of the road network.

In an embodiment there is a method for partitioning the road network area into a plurality of contiguous second subzones including partitioning the road network into a plurality of contiguous second subzones according to a hierarchical geospatial indexing system. In another embodiment partitioning the road network area into a plurality of contiguous second subzones includes partitioning the road network according to a Geohash indexing system.

In an embodiment classifier data associated with the classifier defines dimensions of each of the plurality of contiguous second subzones. In another embodiment classifier data associated with the classifier defines a precision of Geohashes of the Geohash indexing system.

In an embodiment there is a method for selecting vehicle data indicative of vehicle operating conditions for a plurality of vehicles corresponding to the road network zone including selecting raw vehicle data from second historical data corresponding to the road network zone. In another embodiment selecting vehicle data indicative of vehicle operating conditions for a plurality of vehicles corresponding to the road network zone includes selecting raw vehicle data from second historical data corresponding to the road network zone and interpolating data therefrom. In yet another embodiment selecting vehicle data indicative of vehicle operating conditions for a plurality of vehicles corresponding to the road network zone includes selecting raw vehicle data from second historical data corresponding to a second traffic zone and interpolating data therefrom.

In an embodiment there is a method for defining a boundary of a second traffic zone at a predetermined distance from a boundary of the road network zone. In another embodiment the distance from a boundary of the road network zone is defined by a user. In yet another embodiment defining a boundary of a second traffic zone based on a data file indicating geographical coordinates of the boundary thereof.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating a plurality of features based on the vehicle data, for at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones, including generating features defined by classifier data associated with the classifier. In an embodiment generating the plurality of features based on the vehicle data, for at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones, includes generating a plurality of second subzone-related features from a first subset of vehicle data corresponding to a location within a contiguous second subzone.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating the plurality of second subzone-related features including generating the plurality of second subzone-related features selected from a group of: minimum vehicle speed, maximum vehicle speed, average vehicle speed, median vehicle speed, standard deviation of vehicle speed, minimum ignition, maximum ignition, total number of ignitions on, total number of ignitions off, average number of ignitions, ignition ratio, minimum number of vehicle visits/day, maximum number of vehicle visits/day, average number of vehicle visits/day, median number of vehicle visits/day, standard deviation of number of vehicle visits/day, minimum unique number of vehicle visits/day, maximum unique number of vehicle visits/day, median unique number of vehicle visits/day, standard deviation of unique number of vehicle visits/day, average unique number of vehicle visits/day, total number of vehicle visits, total number of unique vehicle visits, and average number of visits/vehicle.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating the plurality of second subzone-related features comprising generating the plurality of second subzone-related features from the first subset of vehicle data and a second subset of vehicle data including vehicle data for a same vehicle temporally subsequent thereto. In an embodiment wherein generating the plurality of second subzone-related features comprises generating the plurality of second subzone-related features selected from a group of: average time to park, minimum time to park, maximum time to park, median time to park, and standard deviation of time to park.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating the plurality of second subzone-related features comprising generating the plurality of second subzone-related features from the first subset of vehicle data and the second subset of vehicle data further including vehicle data for a same vehicle temporally preceding and subsequent thereto. In an embodiment generating the plurality of second subzone-related features comprises generating a plurality of second subzone-related features selected from a group of: average dwell time, minimum dwell time, maximum dwell time, median dwell time, and standard deviation of dwell time.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating the plurality of features comprising generating road network zone-related features from a fourth subset of vehicle data instances corresponding to a position within the road network zone or from a portion of the plurality of second subzone-related features.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating road network zone-related features comprising generating road network zone-related features selected from a group of: road network zone minimum ignition off, road network zone maximum ignition off, road network zone average vehicle speed, road network zone maximum vehicle speed, road network zone minimum vehicle speed, road network zone average number of unique visits/day, road network zone minimum number of unique visits/day, road network zone maximum number of unique visits/day, road network zone average median number of unique visits/day, and road network zone total average number of unique visits/day.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating road network zone-related features comprising generating road network zone-related features from the portion of the plurality of second subzone-related features and are selected from a group of: road network zone average time to park, road network zone maximum time to park, road network zone minimum time to park, road network zone maximum dwell time, road network zone minimum dwell time, road network zone median dwell time, road network zone average dwell time, road network zone minimum number of unique visits, road network zone average number of unique visits, road network zone maximum number of unique visits, road network zone average total number of visits, road network zone maximum total number of visits, and road network zone minimum total number of visits.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating road network zone-related features comprising generating road network zone-related features from the third subset of vehicle data instances corresponding to a position within a road network zone and are selected from a group of: road network zone total number of visits and road network zone total number of unique visits.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating the plurality of features comprising generating second subzone-road network zone-related (SSRNZR) features from a relationship of the portion of the plurality of second subzone-related features to the portion of the road network zone-related features.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating second subzone-road network zone-related features comprising generating second subzone-road network zone-related features selected from a group of: SSRNZR Minimum Vehicle Speed Ratio, SSRNZR Average Vehicle Speed Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Vehicle Speed Ratio, SSRNZR Minimum Ignition Off Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Ignition Off Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Dwell Time Ratio, SSRNZR Minimum Dwell Time Ratio, SSRNZR Average Median Dwell Time Ratio, SSRNZR Average Dwell Time Ratio SSRNZR Minimum Time to Park Ratio, SSRNZR Average Time to Park Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Time to Park Ratio, SSRNZR Minimum Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Average Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Minimum Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio, SSRNZR Average Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio, SSRNZR Total Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio, SSRNZR Average Median Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio, SSRNZR Minimum Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Average Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Total Number of Vehicle Unique Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio.

In an embodiment there is a method comprising, for at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone, obtaining spatial relationship data and generating at least one feature from the spatial relationship data.

In an embodiment there is a method comprising obtaining spatial relationship data comprising obtaining spatial relationship data indicative of a number of contiguous second subzones adjacent the at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone. In an embodiment the at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone is a Geohash.

In an embodiment there is a method for obtaining spatial relationship data for the at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone comprising obtaining spatial relationship data indicative of a number of neighbours of the Geohash.

In an embodiment there is a method for obtaining spatial relationship data for the at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone comprises obtaining spatial relationship data indicative of a number of contiguous second subzones adjacent to the at least a contiguous second subzone having vehicle data corresponding to a location therein.

In an embodiment there is a method for obtaining spatial relationship data for the at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone comprising obtaining spatial relationship data indicative of a number of neighbours of the Geohash having vehicle data corresponding to a location therein.

In an embodiment there is a method for processing the classification data for determining a geographic location of the road network including processing classification data of each contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous subzones of a road network zone labelled as a portion of a vehicle way. In an embodiment generating data indicative of the geographic location of the road network includes generating data indicative of each contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of a road network zone labelled as a portion of a vehicle way.

In an embodiment there is a method for generating data indicative of the geographic location of the road network including generating data indicative of geographical boundaries thereof.

In an embodiment there is a method for processing the classification data for determining a geographic location of the road network including the steps of: a) for each contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones classified as a portion of a vehicle way, forming first neighbour count data indicative of a number of neighbours thereof classified as a portion of a vehicle way; summing first neighbour count data of each neighbour thereof for forming neighbour sum data; dependent on one of a first neighbour count less than 3 and a neighbour sum less than 9, modifying the classification data associated therewith to indicate a classification of the contiguous second subzone as not a portion of a vehicle way; b) for each contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones classified as a not a portion of a vehicle way, forming second neighbour count data indicative of a number of neighbours thereof classified as a portion of a vehicle way; dependent on a second neighbour count greater than 4, modifying the classification data associated therewith to indicate a classification of the contiguous second subzone as a portion of a vehicle way; c) for each contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones classified as a portion of a vehicle way, forming third neighbour count data indicative of a number of neighbours thereof classified as a portion of a vehicle way; and dependent on a third neighbour count less than 3, modifying the classification data associated therewith to indicate the classification of the contiguous second subzone as not a portion of a vehicle way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention are now described by way of non-limiting example and are illustrated in the following figures in which like reference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a simplified diagram of an exemplary network configuration with which some embodiments may operate.

FIG. 1B is a simplified diagram of the exemplary network configuration of FIG. 1A illustrating communication paths.

FIG. 1C is a simplified diagram of another exemplary network configuration with which some embodiments may operate illustrating communication paths.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary telematics system.

FIG. 3A is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary traffic analytics system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3B is a simplified block diagram of another exemplary traffic analytics system comprising a data management system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a conceptual diagram of a database of a traffic analytics system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4B is a conceptual diagram of a dataset of the database of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4C is a conceptual diagram of a vehicle's path within a geographic area.

FIG. 5A is a simplified diagram illustrating an exemplary intelligent telematics system according to embodiments.

FIG. 5B is a simplified diagram illustrating another exemplary intelligent telematics system according to embodiments.

FIG. 6Ai is a simplified diagram of an exemplary type of vehicle way.

FIG. 6Aii is a simplified diagram of an exemplary type of vehicle way.

FIG. 6Aiii is a simplified diagram of an exemplary type of vehicle way.

FIG. 6Aiv is a simplified diagram of an exemplary type of vehicle way.

FIG. 6Av is a simplified diagram of an exemplary type of vehicle way.

FIG. 6Avi is a simplified diagram of an exemplary type of vehicle way.

FIG. 6Bi is a conceptual diagram of a specific and non-limiting example of a zone encompassing the vehicle way of FIG. 6Ai.

FIG. 6Bii is a conceptual diagram of a specific and non-limiting example of a zone encompassing the vehicle way of FIG. 6Aii.

FIG. 6Biii is a conceptual diagram of a specific and non-limiting example of a zone encompassing the vehicle way of FIG. 6Aiii.

FIG. 6Biv is a conceptual diagram of a specific and non-limiting example of a zone encompassing the vehicle way of FIG. 6Aiv.

FIG. 6Bv is a conceptual diagram of a specific and non-limiting example of a zone encompassing the vehicle way of FIG. 6Av.

FIG. 6Bvi is a conceptual diagram of a specific and non-limiting example of a zone encompassing the vehicle way of FIG. 6Avi.

FIG. 6C is a conceptual diagram of elements of a vehicle way.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a process for defining a classifier for use in defining a vehicle way according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a simplified diagram of an area comprising a plurality of sample intersections.

FIG. 9 is a simplified diagram of a plurality of exemplary zones imposed on the plurality of the sample intersections of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10A is a simplified diagram of a plurality of exemplary reference areas of a same dimension defined for the sample intersections FIG. 8.

FIG. 10B is a simplified conceptual diagram of a plurality of exemplary zones imposed on sample vehicle ways.

FIG. 11A is a table defining the relationship between Geohash string length and approximate Geohash cell dimensions.

FIG. 11B is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary Geohash encode function.

FIG. 11C is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary Geohash decode function.

FIG. 11D is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary Geohash bounds function.

FIG. 11E is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary Geohash neighbours function

FIG. 11F is a simplified conceptual diagram of a Geohash cell.

FIG. 11G is a conceptual diagram of a Geohash cell and 8 nearest neighbours of the Geohash cell.

FIG. 12A is a flow diagram of an exemplary process for subdividing a reference area into a grid of Geohash cells.

FIG. 12B is a simplified diagram of a reference area, a reference point and a Geohash cell to which the reference point was mapped.

FIG. 12C is a simplified conceptual diagram of a centre cell and its 8 closest neighbouring cells.

FIG. 12D is a simplified conceptual diagram of a reference area completely subdivided into a grid of contiguous Geohash cells.

FIG. 13A is a simplified conceptual diagram of exemplary first subzone data.

FIG. 13B is a simplified conceptual diagram of other exemplary first subzone data.

FIG. 14A is a simplified conceptual diagram of two zones comprising centre subzones and a plurality of common subzones located within an overlapping portion thereof.

FIG. 14B is an enlarged view of a portion of zones comprising an overlapping portion.

FIG. 14C is a simplified conceptual diagram of redefined zones.

FIG. 15A is a simplified conceptual diagram of a zone comprising vehicle-position data points representing positions of vehicles therein.

FIG. 15B is an enlarged view of a portion of an area and the simplified conceptual diagram of FIG. 15A imposed thereon.

FIG. 16A an enlarged view of a portion of an area comprising a sample intersection and paths of vehicles that have traversed therethrough.

FIG. 16B is a conceptual diagram of a zone and vehicle position-data points representing position data of raw vehicle data instances that correspond to a position along vehicle paths.

FIG. 16C illustrates vehicle position-data points corresponding to positions of vehicles in an area.

FIG. 16D illustrates vehicle-position data points corresponding to interpolated data instances.

FIG. 16E is a conceptual diagram of a zone comprising a plurality of subzones illustrating vehicle-position data points corresponding to raw vehicle data and interpolated vehicle data.

FIG. 16F illustrates vehicle-position data points inside a zone corresponding to interpolated data.

FIG. 17 is a simplified diagram of an exemplary implementation of a traffic zone encompassing zones.

FIG. 18A is a simplified block diagram of a process for obtaining vehicle data for generating features.

FIG. 18B is a simplified block diagram of another process for obtaining vehicle data for generating features.

FIG. 19A is a conceptual block diagram of a feature extraction function for generating features from vehicle data.

FIG. 19B is an exemplary table representing data comprising each subzone ID and a plurality of features for each Geohash.

FIG. 20A is a conceptual diagram of a portion of a zone.

FIG. 20B enlarged view of a subzone.

FIG. 20C is a simplified functional block diagram of a function that may be implemented for generating at least one feature.

FIG. 20D is a table representing an example subset of vehicle data instances corresponding to a position within a subzone.

FIG. 20E is a table of exemplary features and feature values based on the subset of vehicle data instances of FIG. 20D.

FIG. 21 is a simplified diagram of a subzone and vehicle-position data points.

FIG. 22A is a simplified diagram of a path of a vehicle that has traversed a subzone.

FIG. 22B is a table representing a subset of vehicle data.

FIG. 23 is a simplified diagram of a portion of a zone.

FIG. 24A is a simplified conceptual diagram of a portion of a zone including a subzone having 8 adjacent subzones.

FIG. 24B is a simplified conceptual diagram of a portion of a zone including a subzone having 4 adjacent subzones.

FIG. 25A is a conceptual diagram of a portion of a sample vehicle way and a zone imposed thereon.

FIG. 25B is a table representing training data including subzone ID, a plurality of features for each associated subzone, and a class label.

FIG. 25C is a simplified high-level flow diagram of an exemplary process for using a machine learning technique to define a classifier.

FIG. 26A is a flow diagram of a process for defining a road network according to an embodiment.

FIG. 26B is a conceptual diagram of a database comprising second historical vehicle data.

FIG. 26C is a conceptual diagram of a dataset comprising raw vehicle data instances indicative of vehicle operation information collected by a monitoring device at different points in time.

FIG. 27 is a simplified diagram of an exemplary road network area defined by latitude-longitude pairs.

FIG. 28A is a conceptual diagram of a road network zone comprising a plurality of Geohashes.

FIG. 28B is exemplary second subzone data.

FIG. 28C is another exemplary second subzone data.

FIG. 29 is a simplified diagram of a road network zone, exemplary paths taken by three vehicles that have traversed therethrough and vehicle position-data points corresponding to the paths.

FIG. 30 is a simplified diagram of a road network zone, exemplary paths taken by three vehicles that have traversed therethrough, vehicle position-data points corresponding to the paths and interpolated vehicle position-data points.

FIG. 31 is a simplified diagram of a second traffic zone, encompassing a road network zone, exemplary paths taken by three vehicles that have traversed therethrough and vehicle position-data points corresponding to the paths.

FIG. 32 is a simplified diagram of a second traffic zone, encompassing a road network zone, exemplary paths taken by three vehicles that have traversed therethrough, vehicle position-data points corresponding to the paths and interpolated vehicle position-data points.

FIG. 33 is a conceptual diagram of a second subzone comprising vehicle-position data points indicative of a position of one or more vehicles that have entered the second subzone at one point in time.

FIG. 34A is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary process for generating second subzone-related features for a second subzone.

FIG. 34B is an exemplary first subset of second vehicle data corresponding to a position within a second subzone.

FIG. 34C is an exemplary second subzone-related features and feature values based on the first subset of second vehicle data instances.

FIG. 35 is a simplified diagram of a second subzone and a vehicle-position data point representing a vehicle position at T1 according to a first subset of second vehicle data.

FIG. 36A is a simplified diagram of a path of a vehicle that has traversed a second subzone.

FIG. 36B is an exemplary third subset of second vehicle data corresponding to vehicle-position data points at times T11-T24.

FIG. 37A is a conceptual diagram of a portion of a road network zone.

FIG. 37B is another conceptual diagram of a portion of a road network zone.

FIG. 38A is a conceptual diagram of exemplary features generated for a second subzone.

FIG. 38B is a conceptual diagram of exemplary unlabelled data.

FIG. 39A is a conceptual block diagram of a classifier receiving unlabelled data and providing classification data.

FIG. 39B is a conceptual diagram of exemplary classification data illustrating each second subzone has been assigned a label, i.e., 1 or 0, indicating whether the area corresponding to a second subzone is a portion of a vehicle way, or not a portion of a vehicle way.

FIG. 40A is a diagram of a road network zone illustrating second subzones labelled as a portion of a vehicle way shaded grey.

FIG. 40B is a conceptual diagram of a GeoJSON file indicating geographical boundaries of a road network.

FIG. 40C is a conceptual diagram of road network indicative of a GeoJSON file.

FIG. 41 is a flow diagram of a process for relabelling second subzones of a road network that have been incorrectly classified by a classifier.

FIG. 42A is a conceptual diagram of a simplified road network zone.

FIG. 42B is exemplary classification data indicating a second subzone ID for each geohash in a road network zone and classification thereof.

FIG. 42C is exemplary neighbour data indicating neighbours of each Geohash in a road network zone.

FIG. 42D is another conceptual diagram of a simplified road network zone illustrating a first neighbour count for each second subzone of a road network zone within the respective second subzone.

FIG. 42E is another conceptual diagram of a simplified road network zone illustrating a neighbour sum for each second subzone of a road network zone within the respective second subzone.

FIG. 42F is a conceptual diagram of exemplary classification data.

FIG. 42G is another conceptual diagram of a simplified road network zone illustrating a second neighbour count for each second subzone of a road network zone within the respective second subzone.

FIG. 42H is a conceptual diagram of other exemplary classification data.

FIG. 42I is another conceptual diagram of a simplified road network zone illustrating a third neighbour count for each second subzone of a road network zone within the respective second subzone.

FIG. 42J is a conceptual diagram of other exemplary classification data.

FIG. 43 is a conceptual diagram of exemplary classification data.

FIG. 44A is a conceptual diagram of a road network zone illustrating a road network including second subzones shaded according to classification data.

FIG. 44B is a conceptual diagram of a GeoJSON file indicating geographical boundaries of a road network based on classification data.

FIG. 44C is a conceptual diagram of a road network indicative of a GeoJSON file.

DESCRIPTION

Telematics is a method of monitoring a vehicle using an onboard monitoring device for gathering and transmitting vehicle operation information. For instance, fleet managers employ telematics to have remote access to real time operation information of each vehicle in a fleet. A vehicle may include a car, truck, recreational vehicle, heavy equipment, tractor, snowmobile or other transportation asset. A monitoring device may detect environmental operating conditions associated with a vehicle, for example, outside temperature, attachment status of an attached trailer, and temperature inside an attached refrigeration trailer. A monitoring device may also detect operating conditions of an associated vehicle, such as position, (e.g., geographic coordinates), speed, and acceleration, among others.

In an exemplary telematics system, raw vehicle data, including vehicle operation information indicative of a vehicle's operating conditions, is transmitted from an onboard monitoring device to a remote subsystem, (e.g., server). Raw vehicle data may include information indicating the identity of the onboard monitoring device (e.g., device identifier, device ID) and/or the identity of the associated vehicle the onboard monitoring device is aboard. Specific and non-limiting examples of raw vehicle data includes device ID data, position data, speed data, ignition state data, (e.g. indicates whether vehicle ignition is ON or OFF), and date and time data indicative of a date and time vehicle operating conditions were logged by the monitoring device. Raw vehicle data transmitted and collected over a period of time forms historical vehicle data which may be stored by the remote subsystem for future analysis of a single vehicle or fleet performance. In practise, a single fleet may comprise many vehicles, and thus large volumes of raw vehicle data (e.g., terabytes, petabytes, exabytes . . . ) may be transmitted to, and stored by, a remote subsystem. Telematics systems are discussed in further detail below with reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C and FIG. 2.

Processing historical vehicle data corresponding to positions within a roadway section of interest may provide an alternative technique for obtaining traffic data and/or traffic metrics that avoid some of the drawbacks of existing techniques described in the foregoing. For example, a method for obtaining traffic data and/or traffic metrics from historical vehicle data may include obtaining a location (e.g., boundary coordinates) of a roadway section of interest. For instance, a road agency may store geographic data describing a roadway system comprising the roadway section of interest on a publicly accessible server, such as a server accessible via the Internet. The geographic data may be in the form of a geospatial file (e.g., shape file (.shp), GeoJSON (.geojson)), or other file format, from which geographical coordinates of boundaries delineating roads forming the roadway system may be extracted. In this example, a geospatial file including boundary coordinates of the roadway section of interest is accessed, and latitude, longitude (Lat/Long) coordinates of a plurality of points defining the boundaries thereof are extracted from the geospatial file. Next, a plurality of raw vehicle data instances corresponding to a position within boundaries of the roadway section of interest are selected from the historical vehicle data and processed for providing traffic data and/or traffic metrics relating to the roadway section of interest.

In an exemplary implementation, obtaining traffic data and/or traffic metrics for a roadway section of interest from historical vehicle data includes obtaining and processing vehicle speed data for determining an average speed of vehicles traversing a roadway section of interest. In this example, the roadway section of interest is in the form of a portion of a road (i.e., a road portion.) Firstly, the location of the road portion is determined. For instance, geographical coordinates of boundaries of the road portion are extracted, for example, from a shape file (.shp) or a GeoJSON file (.geojson).

As described in the foregoing, historical vehicle data comprises raw vehicle data instances corresponding to a plurality of vehicles which may be indicative of device ID, vehicle position, speed, and date & time the vehicle position and speed were logged. A subset of raw vehicle data instances corresponding to a location within the boundaries of the road portion are selected from historical vehicle data and a cumulative speed of all vehicles that have traversed the road portion are divided by the number thereof to provide an average speed traffic metric. This is only one method of obtaining traffic data and/or traffic metrics from historical vehicle data and is not intended to limit embodiments to this example.

In practise, locations and/or boundaries of roadway sections of interest are not readily available. For instance, some geographic information systems (GISs), (e.g., geographical information systems available from ESRI® of Redlands, Calif., USA), and web mapping services (e.g., Google Maps, developed by Google® of Mountain View, Calif., USA), among others, have compiled geospatial information describing locations, (e.g., boundary information) of roadway systems. However, such systems and services have invested significant resources to do so. For instance, high volumes of different data types are collected via a variety of data collection techniques. This data is then processed to provide geospatial information. Some exemplary data collection techniques include aerial and satellite image capture, video recording, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), road surveying, and crowdsourcing.

In general, implementing similar techniques for obtaining roadway section locations would be time consuming, complex, computationally intensive, and costly. Some web mapping services, (e.g., Google Maps) may provide geospatial roadway-related information, such as Lat/Long coordinates of road boundaries, via interactive maps. However, such functionality is not designed to enable easy extraction of boundary information in large quantities and/or in a suitable machine-readable data format. Alternatively, roadway boundary information may be available in a suitable machine-readable data format, GIS, for example, however, at a cost.

Described herein are alternative techniques for defining locations of roadway sections that may avoid some issues of known techniques described in the foregoing. Upon definition of a location of a roadway section of interest, related traffic data and/or traffic metrics related thereto may be determined by processing raw vehicle data instances corresponding to positions within a roadway section of interest, as described above.

In general, techniques described herein may be used to determine a location of any area frequently used by vehicles. Such areas are discussed in further detail below in reference to FIGS. 6Ai-6Avi and FIGS. 6Bi-6Bvi.

Described herein are various embodiments of systems and methods for defining an area frequently used by vehicles, (i.e., an area on the Earth's surface repeatedly employed by vehicles), hereinafter referred to as a ‘vehicle way’. A vehicle way may include an area used by vehicles for movement and/or parking. Specific and non-limiting examples of vehicle ways include traffic-designated areas, such as by road agencies, for channeling traffic flow (e.g., roads, traffic junctions), and for parking (e.g., street parking spaces, commercial parking lots). Vehicle ways may also include areas that are not traffic-designated areas. For instance, areas that have not been created and/or maintained by a road agency or commercial entity for vehicle use, nonetheless are repeatedly used thereby. For example, a vehicle way includes an ad hoc vehicle way. An example of an ad hoc vehicle way includes a beaten path created by frequent flow of vehicles for accessing a natural attraction, such as a lake, river, or forested area, for which no access road was available. Another example of an ad hoc vehicle way includes a portion of a field frequently used to accommodate overflow vehicles of a nearby parking lot.

Illustrated in FIGS. 6Ai-6Avi are simplified diagrams of various exemplary types of vehicle ways, including: circular traffic junction 602, (i.e., roundabout) having circular road segment 604 and road segments 606, 607, 608 and 609 for channeling vehicles therethrough; three way traffic junction 612 (i.e., intersection) having road segments 614, 616, and 617 for channeling vehicles therethrough; traffic junction 618 (i.e., highway off-ramp) having road segment 619, main road portion 620, and 622 for channeling vehicles therethrough; parking lot 624, having parking area 626 and entry/exit 629 for channeling vehicles in and out thereof; road portion 650 having opposing lanes 643 a and 643 b; and on-street parking space 644. The exemplary vehicle ways of FIGS. 6Ai-6Avi are provided for example purposes only and embodiments are not intended to be limited to the examples described herein.

A defined vehicle way may be described by any data format provided the data indicates the location (e.g., the unique location of the vehicle way on the Earth's surface) occupied thereby. For example, a vehicle way may be defined by a plurality of points defining the boundaries of the vehicle way. The geographic coordinates of the plurality of points may be, for example, stored in a text file, such as a comma-separated values (.csv) file. In another example, boundaries may be described in a geospatial file, for instance a shape file (.shp) or a GeoJSON file (.geojson), from which geographic coordinates of vehicle way boundaries may be obtained. In yet another example, the location occupied by a vehicle way may be described in accordance with a geospatial indexing system, such as Geohash. Geohash is a known public domain hierarchical geospatial indexing system which uses a Z-order curve to hierarchically subdivide the latitude/longitude grid into progressively smaller cells of grid shape. For instance, a Geohash string indicates a unique geographical area (e.g., cell). A vehicle way may be described by data indicative of a plurality of Geohash strings indicating the Geohash cells occupied by the vehicle way. A vehicle way may be described in numerous data formats and embodiments are not intended to be limited to examples described herein.

Some embodiments described herein relate to techniques for defining a vehicle way comprising processing data indicative of vehicle operation conditions of a plurality of vehicles that have travelled within a known area, that is, an area of which the location thereof is defined. Processing such data may provide an indication as to whether the known area is a portion of the vehicle way. In other words, processing such data may provide an indication as to whether the vehicle way occupies the known area.

Processing data may also include processing other data indicative of vehicle operation conditions of another plurality of vehicles that have travelled within other known areas proximate the known area. Furthermore, processing data may also include processing spatial relationship data of the known area to other known areas proximate thereto.

Some embodiments described herein relate to defining a vehicle way by defining a relationship between vehicle operating conditions of vehicles that have operated proximate known areas and the likelihood the known areas are portions of a vehicle way.

Some embodiments described herein relate to techniques for defining a vehicle way using machine learning techniques using historical vehicle data, (e.g., raw vehicle data), and/or data derived therefrom to define the location of the vehicle way.

In example implementations, a traffic analytics system may be configured to access historical vehicle data associated with known areas and define one or more classification models that are related to operating conditions of corresponding vehicles, and then operate in accordance with the one or more models. In general, each such classification model may receive as input, data (i.e., features), derived from historical vehicle data related to vehicles that have operated within a known area, within a plurality of known areas, and a spatial relationship of the known area to the other known areas, and output an indication the known area is a portion of a vehicle way.

As described in the foregoing, a vehicle way includes areas frequently used and/or employed by vehicles. The phrases ‘frequently used’ and ‘repeatedly employed’ are relative to the time period of logging of the historical vehicle data. For example, data (i.e., features), derived from historical vehicle data related to vehicles that have travelled within a known area are input to a classification model for use thereof. However, if there is little raw vehicle data corresponding to a vehicle way of interest within the historical vehicle data, the output of the classifier may not provide meaningful data when applied for defining the vehicle way of interest.

Illustrated in FIG. 1A is a simplified diagram of an exemplary network configuration 100 with which some embodiments may operate. Network configuration 100 includes telematics system 102, traffic analytics system 104, remote system 106, and communication network 110. Communication network 110 may be communicatively coupled to telematics system 102, traffic analytics system 104, and remote system 106, enabling communication therebetween.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 may communicate with telematics system 102, and remote system 106 for receiving historical vehicle data or a portion thereof via communication network 110. FIG. 1B is a simplified diagram of network configuration 100 illustrating communication path 112 between traffic analytics system 104 and telematics system 102 and communication path 113 between traffic analytics system 104 and remote system 106.

FIG. 1C is a simplified diagram of another exemplary network configuration 101 with which some embodiments may operate. Network configuration 101 includes telematics system 102, traffic analytics system 104, remote system 106, data management system 108 and communication network 110. Communication network 110 may be communicatively coupled to telematics system 102, traffic analytics system 104, remote system 106, and data management system 108, enabling communication therebetween.

For example, telematics system 102 may transmit raw vehicle data and/or historical vehicle data to data management system 108 for the storage thereof, as illustrated by communication path 114. Traffic analytics system 104 may be configured for communicating with data management system 108, for receiving historical vehicle data or a portion thereof via communication network 110, as illustrated by communication path 116. Traffic analytics system 104 may also be configured for communicating with remote system 106.

Remote system 106 may be another telematics system from which traffic analytics system 104 receives historical vehicle data. Alternatively, remote system 106 may store historical vehicle data collected by one or more telematics systems and/or similar vehicle monitoring systems.

Alternatively, remote system 106 may provide external data to traffic analytics system 104. For example, remote system 106 is a map service provider that provides geospatial information regarding roadway systems, traffic control equipment, and/or jurisdictional boundary information, among other geospatial information to traffic analytics system 104.

In yet another example, remote system 106 may be a customer system to which traffic analytics system 104 transmits output data in the form of raw data, a web page, or in another data format.

Communication network 110 may include one or more computing systems and may be any suitable combination of networks or portions thereof to facilitate communication between network components. Some examples of networks include, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Local Area Networks (LANs), Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs), data networks, cellular networks, voice networks, among other networks, which may be wired and/or wireless. Communication network 110 may operate according to one or more communication protocols, such as, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS), Global System for Mobile (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Long Term Evolution (LTE), CDMA (Code-division Multiple Access) (CDMA), WCDMA (Wide Code-division Multiple Access), (High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Evolved HSPA (HSPA+), Low-power WAN (LPWAN), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTP/S), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and Constrained Application Protocol/Datagram Transport Layer Security (CoAP/DTLS), or other suitable protocol. Communication network 110 may take other forms as well.

Illustrated in FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary telematics system for gathering and storing vehicle operation information. Telematics system 102 comprises telematics subsystem 210 (e.g., server) having a first network interface 206 and onboard monitoring devices 202, 203, and 204 communicatively coupled therewith via communication network 207.

Communication network 207 may include one or more computing systems and may be any suitable combination of networks or portions thereof to facilitate communication between network components. Some examples of networks include, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Local Area Networks (LANs), Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs), data networks, cellular networks, voice networks, among other networks, which may be wired and/or wireless. Communication network 207 may operate according to one or more communication protocols, such as, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS), Global System for Mobile (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Long Term Evolution (LTE), CDMA (Code-division Multiple Access) (CDMA), WCDMA (Wide Code-division Multiple Access), (High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Evolved HSPA (HSPA+), Low-power WAN (LPWAN), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTP/S), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and Constrained Application Protocol/Datagram Transport Layer Security (CoAP/DTLS), or other suitable protocol. Communication network 110 may take other forms as well.

Telematics system 102 may comprise another network interface 208 for communicatively coupling to another communication network, such as communication network 110. Telematics subsystem 210 may comprise a plurality of servers, datastores, and other devices, configured in a centralized, distributed or other arrangement.

Also shown in FIG. 2 are vehicles 212, 213 and 214, each thereof having aboard the monitoring devices 202, 203, and 204, respectively. A vehicle may include a car, truck, recreational vehicle, heavy equipment, tractor, snowmobile, or other transportation asset. Onboard monitoring devices 202-204 may transmit raw vehicle data associated with vehicles 212-214. Raw vehicle data transmitted and collected over a period of time forms historical vehicle data which may be stored by remote telematics subsystem 210.

In practise, a monitoring device is associated with a particular vehicle. For example, during configuration of monitoring devices 202-204, each thereof may be assigned a unique device ID that is uniquely associated with a vehicle information number (VIN) of vehicles 212-214, respectively. This enables an instance of received raw vehicle data to be associated with a particular vehicle. As such, vehicle-specific raw vehicle data may be discernable among other raw vehicle data in the historical vehicle data.

Three monitoring devices are described in this example for explanation purposes only and embodiments are not intended to be limited to the examples described herein. In practise, a telematics system may comprise many vehicles, such as hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands or more. Thus, huge volumes of raw vehicle data may be received and stored by telematics subsystem 210.

In general, monitoring devices comprise sensing modules configured for sensing and/or measuring a physical property that may indicate an operating condition of a vehicle. For example, sensing modules may sense and/or measure a vehicle's position, (e.g., GPS coordinates), speed, direction, rates of acceleration or deceleration, for instance, along the x-axis, y-axis, and/or z-axis, altitude, orientation, movement in the x, y, and/or z direction, ignition state, transmission and engine performance, among others. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that these are but a few types of vehicle operating conditions that may be detected.

Monitoring device 202 may comprise a sensing module for determining vehicle position. For instance, the sensing module may utilize Global Positioning System (GPS) technology (e.g., GPS receiver) for determining the geographic position (Lat/Long coordinates) of vehicle 212. Alternatively, the sensing module utilizes another global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology, such as, GLONASS or BeiDou. Alternatively, the sensing module may further utilize another kind of technology for determining geographic position. In addition, the sensing module may provide other vehicle operating information, such as speed.

Alternatively, vehicle position information may be provided according to another geographic coordinate system, such as, Universal Transverse Mercator, Military Grid Reference System, or United States National Grid.

In general, a vehicle may include various control, monitoring and/or sensor modules for detecting vehicle operating conditions. Some specific and non-limiting examples include, an engine control unit (ECU), a suspension and stability control module, a headlamp control module, a windscreen wiper control module, an anti-lock braking system module, a transmission control module, and a braking module. A vehicle may have any combination of control, monitoring and/or sensor modules. A vehicle may include a data/communication bus accessible for monitoring vehicle operating information, provided by one or more vehicle control, monitoring and/or sensor modules. A vehicle data/communication bus may operate according to an established data bus protocol, such as the Controller Area Network bus (CAN-bus) protocol that is widely used in the automotive industry for implementing a distributed communications network. Specific and non-limiting examples of vehicle operation information provided by vehicle monitoring and/or sensor modules include, ignition state, fuel tank level, intake air temp, and engine RPM among others.

Monitoring device 202 may comprise a monitoring module operable to communicate with a data/communication bus of vehicle 212. A monitoring module may communicate via a direct connection, such as, electrically coupling, with a data/communication bus of vehicle 212 via a vehicle communication port, (e.g., diagnostic port/communication bus, OBDII port). Alternatively, a monitoring module may comprise a wireless communication interface for communicating with a wireless interface of the data/communication bus of vehicle 212. Optionally, a monitoring module may communicate with other external devices/systems that detect operating conditions of the vehicle.

Monitoring device 202 may be configured to wirelessly communicate with telematics subsystem 210 via a wireless communication module. In some embodiments, monitoring device 202 may directly communicate with one or more networks outside vehicle 212 to transmit data to telematics subsystem 210. A person of ordinary skill will recognize that functionality of some modules may be implemented in one or more devices and/or that functionality of some modules may be integrated into the same device.

Monitoring devices 202-204 may transmit raw vehicle data, indicative of vehicle operation information collected thereby, to telematics subsystem 210. The raw vehicle data may be transmitted at predetermined time intervals, (e.g. heartbeat), intermittently, and/or according to other predefined conditions. Raw vehicle data transmitted from monitoring devices 202-204 may include information indicative of device ID, position, speed, ignition state, and date and time operating conditions are logged, for instance, in an onboard datastore. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that raw vehicle data may comprise data indicative of numerous other vehicle operating conditions. Raw vehicle data may be transmitted from a monitoring device when a vehicle is moving, stationary, and during both ON and OFF ignition states.

In an exemplary implementation, raw vehicle data received and stored by a subsystem over a period of time forms historical vehicle data. In an exemplary implementation, historical vehicle data may be stored by telematics subsystem 210 in a database, such as database 209, as shown. A period of time may include, for example, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, or another duration of time.

Traffic Analytics System

Illustrated in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B there are two exemplary traffic analytics systems 104 including traffic analytics system 104 a and traffic analytics system 104 b, as shown respectively.

FIG. 3A is a simplified block diagram of exemplary traffic analytics system 104 a comprising a processing resource 302, datastore 304, and network interface 306. For example, processing resource 302 and datastore 304 may be communicatively coupled by a system communication bus, a wired network, a wireless network, or other connection mechanism and arranged to carry out various operations described herein. Optionally, two or more of these components may be integrated together in whole or in part.

Network interface 306 may be interoperable with communication network 110 and may be configured to receive data from various network components of the network configuration 100, 101 such as telematics system 102, remote system 106, data management system 108, and possibly other network components. Traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b may communicate with one or more of these network components for obtaining historical vehicle data, or portions thereof. For instance, once received, datastore 304 may store subsets of raw vehicle data in a database, such as database 309.

In an exemplary implementation, traffic analytics system 104 a is configured to interoperate with data management system 108 for obtaining historical vehicle data and/or a portion thereof. For example, data management system 108 may manage and store large volumes (e.g., big data) and multiple types of data. Data management system 108 may comprise a relational database, for storing historical vehicle data, or a portion thereof, collected by one or more telematics or vehicle monitoring systems. Data management system 108 may include a web service that enables interactive analysis of large datasets stored in a remote datastore. Traffic analytics system 104 a may be configured to interoperate with such a data management system for obtaining raw vehicle data from historical vehicle data stored therein and managed thereby. An example of such a data management system is a managed cloud data warehouse for performing analytics on data stored therein, such as BigQuery™, available from Google® of Mountain View, Calif., USA.

FIG. 3B is a simplified block diagram of second exemplary traffic analytics system 104 b comprising processing resource 302, datastore 304, data management system 305 and network interface 306. For example, processing resource 302, datastore 304, and data management system 305 may be communicatively coupled by a system communication bus, a wired network, a wireless network, or other connection mechanism and arranged to carry out various operations described herein. Optionally, two or more of these components may be integrated together in whole or in part. Data management system 305 may comprise a datastore including database for storing historical vehicle data or a portion thereof. Optionally data management system 305 stores and manages large volumes (e.g., big data) and multiple types of data. For example, data management system 305 may comprise a relational database, for storing historical vehicle data collected by one or more telematics or vehicle monitoring systems, or a portion thereof. In another example, database 309 of data management system 305 stores subsets of raw vehicle data from historical vehicle data for processing by traffic analytics system 104 b. Alternatively, data management system 305 may include and/or access a web service that enables interactive analysis of large datasets stored in a remote datastore. An example of such a data management system is a managed cloud data warehouse for performing analytics on data stored therein, such as BigQuery™.

According to an embodiment, exemplary traffic analytics system 104 b receives and stores historical vehicle data in data management system 305 and operates on subsets of historical vehicle data in accordance with operations described herein.

Processing resource 302 may include one or more processors and/or controllers, which may take the form of a general or a special purpose processor or controller. In exemplary implementations, processing resource 302 may be, or include, microprocessors, microcontrollers, application specific integrated circuits, digital signal processors, and/or other data processing devices. Processing resource 302 may be a single device or distributed over a network.

Datastore 304 may be or include one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, such as optical, magnetic, organic, or flash memory, among other data storage devices and may take any form of computer readable storage media. Datastore 304 may be a single device or may be distributed over a network.

Processing resource 302 may be configured to store, access, and execute computer-readable program instructions stored in datastore 304, to perform the operations of traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b described herein. For instance, processing resource 302 may be configured to receive historical vehicle data and may execute a classification model for defining a vehicle way. Other functions are described below.

Traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b may be configured to access, receive, store, analyze and process raw vehicle data for defining a classification model and/or executing a classification model. For example, traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b may select and process raw vehicle data of a plurality of vehicles corresponding to a known area, for determining whether the known area is likely to be a portion of a vehicle way. Other examples and corresponding operations are also possible.

In some example implementations, traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b may include and/or communicate with a user interface. The user interface may be located remote from traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b. For instance, traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b may communicate with a user interface via network interface 306. Other examples are also possible.

For the ease of description, traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b is shown as a single system, however, it may include multiple computing systems, such as servers, storage devices, and other distributed resources, configured to perform operations/processes described herein. Operations and processes performed by traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b described herein may be performed by another similarly configured and arranged system.

In an exemplary implementation, traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b is configured to obtain, store and process historical vehicle data. For example, traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b obtains historical vehicle data 404 from telematics system 102 and stores it in database 309. FIG. 4A is a conceptual diagram of database 309. In this example, traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b organizes historical vehicle data 404 by vehicle, via associated device ID. For instance, vehicle-specific datasets 412-414 of database 309 comprise raw vehicle data indicative of vehicle operation information of vehicles 212-214, respectively.

Shown in FIG. 4B is a conceptual diagram of dataset 412. In this example, each row thereof represents a raw vehicle data instance 406 indicative of vehicle operation information collected by monitoring device 202 at different points in time. Raw vehicle data instances 406 of dataset 412 are organized sequentially in time, from DT0 to DT5. In this example, a raw vehicle data instance 406 includes device ID data, speed data, position data, (e.g., LAT/LONG), ignition state data, and date and time data, (e.g., timestamp), as shown.

Now referring to FIG. 4C, shown is a conceptual diagram of vehicle 212's path 416 within geographic area 415 corresponding to vehicle position data 418 of dataset 412. Vehicle-position data points 420 represents a position of vehicle 212 at different points in time, DT0-DT5. As shown, the position of vehicle 212 changes position at each temporally subsequent point in time.

For ease of description, database 309 comprising historical vehicle data 404 is described as organized into vehicle-specific datasets 412-414. One of ordinary skill appreciates that historical vehicle data may be organized in numerous manners.

Intelligent Telematics System

An intelligent telematics system includes aspects of a telematics system and a traffic analytics system, such as, telematics system 102 and traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b.

FIG. 5A is a simplified diagram of an alternative embodiment with which some embodiments may operate. Shown in FIG. 5A is intelligent telematics system 500 a comprising monitoring devices 202, 203, and 204, telematics subsystem 210 (e.g., server), traffic analytics system 104 a, communicatively coupled via communication network 207. Intelligent telematics system 500 a may also include network interface 506 compatible for interfacing with a communication network for communicating with other network components. For example, network interface 506 may be interoperable with communication network 110 and may be configured to receive data from various network components of the network configuration 100, 101 such as remote system 106.

In this example monitoring devices 202-204 may be configured to wirelessly communicate with telematics subsystem 210 via a wireless communication module. In some embodiments, monitoring devices 202-204 may directly communicate with one or more networks outside respective vehicles to transmit data to telematics subsystem 210. A person of ordinary skill will recognize that functionality of some modules may be implemented in one or more devices and/or that functionality of some modules may be integrated into the same device.

Monitoring devices 202-204 may transmit raw vehicle data, indicative of vehicle operation information collected thereby, to telematics subsystem 210, as represented by communication path 510. In an exemplary implementation, raw vehicle data received and stored by telematics subsystem 210 over a period of time forms historical vehicle data. For instance, historical vehicle data may be stored by telematics subsystem 210 in database 209. A period of time may include, for example, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, or another duration of time. In an exemplary embodiment, subsets of raw vehicle data selected from historical vehicle data stored in database 209 may be stored in another database, for instance, database 309 for processing by traffic analytics system 104 a. In this example raw vehicle data is transmitted by telematics subsystem 210 and received by traffic analytics system 104 a via communication path 512, as shown.

FIG. 5B is a simplified diagram of another alternative embodiment with which some embodiments may operate. Shown in FIG. 5B is intelligent telematics system 500 b comprising monitoring devices 202, 203, and 204 and traffic analytics system 104 b, communicatively coupled therewith via communication network 207.

Intelligent telematics system 500 b may also include network interface 506 compatible for interfacing with a communication network for communicating with other network components. For example, network interface 506 may be interoperable with communication network 110 and may be configured to receive data from various network components of the network configuration 100, 101, such as remote system 106.

In this example monitoring devices 202-204 may be configured to wirelessly communicate with traffic analytics system 104 b via a wireless communication module. In some embodiments, monitoring devices 202-204 may directly communicate with one or more networks outside respective vehicles to transmit data to traffic analytics system 104 b. A person of ordinary skill will recognize that functionality of some modules may be implemented in one or more devices and/or that functionality of some modules may be integrated into the same device.

Monitoring devices 202-204 may transmit raw vehicle data, indicative of vehicle operation information collected thereby, to traffic analytics system 104 b via communication path 514, as shown. In an exemplary implementation, raw vehicle data received and stored by traffic analytics system 104 b over a period of time forms historical vehicle data. For instance, historical vehicle data may be stored by traffic analytics system 104 b in database 209 in data management system 305. A period of time may include, for example, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, or another duration of time. In an exemplary embodiment, subsets of raw vehicle data selected from historical vehicle data stored in database 209 may be stored in another database, for instance, database 309 for processing by traffic analytics system 104 b. In this example raw vehicle data is transmitted by telematics subsystem 210 and received by traffic analytics system 104 a. Traffic analytics system 104 b may be configured to perform operations of telematics system 201 as described herein.

In some example implementations, intelligent telematics system 500 a, 500 b may be configured to include and/or communicate with a user interface. The user interface may be located remote therefrom. For instance, intelligent telematics system 500 a, 500 b may communicate with a user interface via network interface 506. Other examples are also possible.

Classification Model

According to an embodiment, a classifier defining a relationship between operation of a plurality of vehicles having operated in a known area and a probability the known area is a portion of a vehicle way may be defined by processing corresponding historical vehicle data. For example, such processing may provide features (e.g., data indicative of variables/attributes, or measurements of properties) of the known area. A machine learning algorithm may be trained with training data comprising features to recognize patterns therein and generalize a relationship between the features and an outcome that the known area is occupied by the vehicle way.

Shown in FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a process 700 for defining a classifier for use in defining a vehicle way according to some embodiments. In particular, a classifier is for providing an indication that a known area is, or is not, a portion of a vehicle way. A classifier may provide as output a likelihood (e.g., probability) a known area is a portion of a vehicle way. Alternatively, a classifier may output an indication (e.g., binary value) that a known area is, or is not, a portion of a vehicle way.

Process 700 is described below as being carried out by traffic analytics system 104 a. Alternatively, process 700 may be carried out by traffic analytics system 104 b, intelligent telematics system 500 a, 500 b, another system, a combination of other systems, subsystems, devices or other suitable means provided the operations described herein are performed. Process 700 may be automated, semi-automated and some blocks thereof may be manually performed.

Block 701

Process 700 begins at block 701, wherein a plurality of sample vehicle ways is identified. According to an embodiment, a classifier may be defined according to a type and/or subtype of vehicle way that is to be defined using the classifier. Specific and non-limiting examples of types of vehicle ways include, traffic junctions, road segments, parking lots, and ad hoc vehicle ways. Specific and non-limiting examples of subtypes of vehicle ways include: subtypes of traffic junctions, including roundabouts, intersections, on-ramps, and off-ramps; subtypes of parking lots including single entry and single exit parking lots, single entry and multiple exit parking lots, and multiple entry and single exit parking lots; and subtypes of road segments including one way, two way, multi-lane, and divided highways. A subtype may be considered another type of vehicle way. A subtype may be considered another type of vehicle way. Block 701 will be further described below in reference to FIG. 8.

In an exemplary implementation, a plurality of sample vehicle ways of only parking lot type is identified for defining a classifier for use in defining parking lots. In another exemplary implementation, a plurality of sample vehicle ways for defining a classifier for use in defining a vehicle way in the form of a traffic junction comprises traffic junctions only. For example, the plurality of sample vehicle ways may include one or more of the following traffic junctions, 3-way intersections, 4-way intersections, n-way intersections, roundabouts, and any other portion of a road system where multiple roads intersect allowing vehicular traffic to change from one road to another.

Alternatively, a plurality of sample vehicle ways for defining a classifier for use in defining a subtype of a traffic junction in the form of an intersection only comprises intersections (e.g., 3-way intersections, 4-way intersections). Defining a classifier for use for defining a particular type or subtype of vehicle way may provide a more accurate classifier.

Furthermore, a classifier defined with sample vehicle ways of only one type and/or one subtype of vehicle way may be suitable for use in defining vehicle ways of a different type and/or subtype of vehicle way.

Alternatively, a classifier may be defined for defining all types of vehicle ways.

In an exemplary implementation, a classifier for use in defining a vehicle way in the form of an intersection is defined according to process 700. In FIG. 8, shown is a simplified diagram of area 800 comprising a roadway system including a plurality of sample vehicle ways in the form of sample intersections 802 a-802 f. Area 800 also comprises parking lots 805, roadway sections 806, and non-traffic designated areas 807 (e.g., greenspace, sidewalks). For ease of description, only six sample intersections are described in this example. In practise, however, the number of sample vehicle ways may include other than six sample vehicle ways.

In this example, sample intersections 802 a-802 f are also shown to be part of the same roadway network. However, sample vehicle ways may be selected from different roadway systems located in different cities, countries and/or continents. One of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that selection of an appropriate number and type(s) of sample vehicle ways will become apparent during definition (e.g., training and verification) of the classifier.

Block 702

Once a plurality of sample vehicle ways has been identified, a plurality of associated zones for each of the plurality of sample vehicle ways, is defined in block 702. Block 702 will be further described below in reference to FIGS. 6Ai-6Avi, 6Bi-6Bvi, 6C, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIGS. 10A-10B, FIGS. 11A-11F, FIGS. 12A-12D, and FIGS. 13A-13B.

A zone includes an area encompassing an associated vehicle way. For example, shown in FIG. 6C is a conceptual diagram of elements of a vehicle way, including a bridge element 670 coupled to an employed element 671. For instance, bridge element 670 comprises an area for traversal of a vehicle for transitioning therefrom to employed element 671. Employed element 671 comprises an area in which the vehicle manoeuvres, such as for moving and/or parking. A vehicle way may have one or more of each of bridge elements and employed elements.

Shown in FIG. 6Bi-6Bvi are conceptual diagrams of some specific and non-limiting examples of zones encompassing the vehicle ways of FIG. 6Ai-6Avi.

For example, zone 611 encompasses circular traffic junction 602. Elements of circular traffic junction 602 include bridge elements 628 of road segments 606-609 and employed element 630 of circular road segment 604. A vehicle traverses one of bridge elements 628 to enter (i.e., transition into) employed element 630. Once inside employed element 630, the vehicle moves therethrough (i.e., maneuvers) and exits (i.e., transitions through) employed element 630 via a bridge element 628. In this example, circular traffic junction 602 comprises four bridge elements 628 and one employed element 630.

Zone 613 encompasses intersection 612. Elements of intersection 612 includes three bridge elements 632 for instance, road segments 614, 616, and 617 and one employed element 634 where road segments 614, 616 and 617 intersect.

Zone 615 encompasses traffic junction 618. Elements of traffic junction 618 includes two bridge elements 638 including off-ramp portion 622 and main road portion 620 and one employed element such as off-ramp portion 648.

Zone 640 encompasses parking lot 624. Elements of parking lot 624 includes a bridge element 642 of entry/exit 629 and an employed element 668 including parking area 626.

Zone 652 encompasses road portion 650. Elements of road portion 650 includes two bridge elements 654 of road portions 650 and an employed element 656 of road portion 650.

Zone 660 encompasses a bridge element 662 of on-street parking space 644 and an employed element 664 of on-street parking space 644.

In some instances, elements may include physical boundaries of a road surface such as a sidewalk, road shoulder, and lane divider, among others. In other instances, a vehicle way may not have any physical boundaries, such as a beaten path created by frequent flow of vehicles for accessing a natural attraction as described above.

One of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that the dimensions of a zone is selected to encompass and include elements of a vehicle way. A dimension that is too small and does not include the elements, or includes partial elements, of a vehicle way should be avoided. For example, referring to FIG. 6Bii, shown is zone 666 encompassing partial elements of intersection 612—only portions of bridge elements 632 and employed element 634. In this instance, as zone 666 encompasses an insufficient portion of intersection 612, only a portion of historical vehicle data associated therewith will be processed for defining a classifier. As such, the performance of the defined classifier may be poor.

Alternatively, a dimension that is too large should also be avoided. For instance, a zone should be large enough to encompass a vehicle way, however, not too large such that it includes extraneous areas. For example, a zone that is too large may result in unnecessary processing of extraneous historical vehicle data. Furthermore, dimensions of a zone may affect computing resources and processing time for defining and/or using a classification model. One of ordinary skill will appreciate that optimal zone dimensions will become apparent during definition of the classifier.

Continuing at block 702, each zone encompassing a vehicle way comprises a plurality of contiguous known areas, also referred to herein as subzones. Each subzone may have boundaries defined in accordance with a geographic coordinate system representing a unique two-dimensional space on the Earth's surface. For example, a zone may be partitioned by subdividing the zone into a grid of contiguous subzones bound by pairs of latitude and longitude lines. As such, the unique location of each subzone is known. Each subzone in the plurality of contiguous subzones within a zone shares a boundary with at least one other subzone. The plurality of contiguous subzones serves to facilitate organization of all points therein as each subzone comprises an aggregate of a portion of points within a zone. A point located within boundaries of a subzone may be uniquely associated therewith.

Optionally, a subzone may include a portion of a vehicle way overlapping another portion of a vehicle way. For instance, the subzone may represent a portion of an overpass that overlaps a portion of a roadway thereunder. Optionally, a subzone may include a portion of a vehicle way overlapped by another portion of a vehicle way. For instance, the subzone may represent a portion of a roadway that is overlapped by a portion of an overpass.

In some exemplary implementations, zone dimensions may be determined according to the shape and size of an associated vehicle way. FIG. 9 is a simplified diagram of a plurality of exemplary zones 908 a-908 f defined for sample intersections 802 a-802 f, respectively. In this example, the dimensions of each zone are such that the elements of each associated vehicle way are encompassed thereby. As sample vehicle ways, e.g., sample intersections 802 a-802 f vary relatively in shape and size, so may respective zones 908 a-908 f.

Each of the plurality of zones 908 a-908 f is partitioned into a plurality of contiguous subzones 910 a-910 f. For instance, each of zones 908 a-908 f may be subdivided into a grid of contiguous subzones bound by pairs of latitude and longitude lines. As each of zones 908 a-908 f may be different in dimension, each thereof may comprise a different number of subzones 910 a-910 f, as shown. For example, zone 908 b is smaller than zone 908 f and accordingly, has fewer subzones 910 b than the number of subzones 910 f in zone 908 f.

In some embodiments geographic coordinate data of a location (e.g., LAT/LONG) of a reference point proximate each of the sample vehicle ways is obtained by traffic analytics system 104 a. A reference point indicates a general area in which a vehicle way may be located.

In an exemplary implementation, a user may view a georeferenced map of area 800 on a display and manually identify a reference point proximate sample intersection 802 a. For instance, the georeferenced map may be accessed via a web page of an online map service, such as Google Maps. The user may choose reference point 803 a on or near sample intersection 802 a, as shown in FIG. 8. The location of reference point 803 a may be obtained, by the user selecting reference point 803 a on the georeferenced map with a pointer, causing text indicating geographic coordinates (e.g., LAT/LONG) thereof to appear on the display. Alternatively, a location of a reference point proximate a vehicle way may be obtained through use of a GPS enabled device or another geographic coordinate sensing device. One of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that there are various ways to obtain a location of a point. Point data indicative of the location of reference point 803 a may be provided to traffic analytics system 104 a, for example, via a user interface or data file accessed by traffic analytics system 104 a. The reference point may be at or near the centre point of a zone.

In an exemplary implementation, a zone may be defined by subdividing a reference area into a grid of contiguous subzones according to a hierarchical geospatial indexing system, such as Geohash. Geohash is a known public domain hierarchical geospatial indexing system which uses a Z-order curve to hierarchically subdivide the latitude/longitude grid into progressively smaller cells of grid shape. Each cell is rectangular and represents an area bound by a unique pair of latitude and longitude lines corresponding to an alphanumeric string, known as a Geohash string and/or Geohash code.

In a Geohash system the size of a cell depends on a user defined length of a string. The hierarchical structure of Geohash grids progressively refines spatial granularity as the length of string increases. For example, shown in FIG. 11A is table 1102 defining the relationship between string length and approximate cell dimensions. As string length increases, cell dimensions decrease, as shown. Cell size is also influenced by a cell's longitudinal location. Cell width reduces moving away from the equator (to 0 at the poles) due to the nature of longitudinal lines converging as they extend away therefrom. Table 1102 provides an approximation of Geohash cell dimensions located along the equator.

Some exemplary Geohash system functions will now be described below in reference to FIGS. 11B-11G. FIG. 11F is a simplified conceptual diagram of cell 1132, defined by latitude and longitude lines 1134 and 1136, respectively. Shown in FIG. 11B is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary Geohash encode function 1108, for mapping a point to a cell. For example, LAT/LONG coordinates, ‘42.620578, −5.620343,’ of point 1130 of FIG. 11F and a user defined length=5 are input to encode function 1108 which maps point 1130 to cell 1132. Encode function 1108 outputs string ‘ers42’ corresponding to cell 1132 having dimensions 4.89 km×4.89 km. One of ordinary skill appreciates that encode function 1108 will map any point within cell 1132 to the same string, ‘ers42.’

FIG. 11C is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary Geohash decode function 1110 for resolving a string to the centre point of the corresponding cell. For example, string ‘ers42’ is input to decode function 1110 and decoded to cell 1132 centre point 1135 at LAT/LONG coordinates ‘42.60498047, −5.60302734.’ In contrast to encode function 1108, decode function 1110 resolves an input string to LAT/LONG coordinates of one point only, specifically, the centre point of the corresponding cell.

FIG. 11D is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary Geohash bounds function 1112 for resolving a string into ° N/° S, ° W/° E line pairs that bound the corresponding cell. For example, string ‘ers42’ is input to bounds function 1112 which outputs (42.626953125° N, 42.5830078125° N), (−5.5810546875° E, −5.625° E) line pairs bounding cell 1132, as shown in FIG. 11F.

FIG. 11E is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary Geohash neighbours function 1114 for determining the closest 8 neighbouring (e.g., adjacent) cells to a given cell. For example, string ‘ers42’ is input into neighbours function 1114 which outputs strings of the closest 8 neighbouring cells at relative positions NW, W, NE, W, E, SW, S, and SE to cell 1132. FIG. 11G is a simplified conceptual of cell 1132 and its 8 closest neighbouring cells 1140.

In an exemplary implementation, each of the plurality of zones 908 a-908 f of FIG. 9 is partitioned into a plurality of contiguous subzones 910 a-910 f, respectively, in the form of Geohash cells. As mentioned above, sample vehicle ways may be selected from various locations and thus may be located at different longitudes. As such, dimensions of Geohash cells across a plurality of zones may differ at different longitudes.

In some exemplary implementations, zone dimensions may be dependent on dimensions that are likely to encompass most vehicle ways to be defined using a classifier. For example, shown in FIG. 10A, is a simplified diagram of a plurality of reference areas 1008 a-1008 f of a same dimension defined for sample intersections 802 a-802 f, respectively. Dimensions of reference areas 1008 a-1008 f are approximated to encompass most intersections within an intersection population that may be defined by a classifier. In this example, reference areas 1008 a-1008 f are circular in shape having a radius R. In some instances, a reference area may be defined relative to the location of the reference point of the vehicle way. For instance, reference areas 1008 a-1008 f are centred about reference points 803 a-803 f of sample intersections 802 a-802 f. Accordingly, reference areas 1008 a-1008 f are defined by radius R extending from the reference points 803 a-803 f respectively.

In an exemplary implementation, the inventor determined a reference area defined radially 25 m from the reference point encompasses most intersections within an intersection population of interest whilst avoiding extraneous areas.

As noted above, for a plurality of different types and/or subtypes of vehicle ways a plurality of classifiers may be defined. As such, optimal zone dimensions may vary according to the classifier. One of ordinary skill will appreciate that an optimal zone dimensions will become apparent during definition of the classifier.

FIG. 10B is a simplified conceptual diagram of a plurality of exemplary zones 1010 a-1010 f imposed on sample intersections 802 a-802 f, each comprising a plurality of contiguous subzones 1011 a-1011 f. In this example, reference areas 1008 a-1008 f of FIG. 10A are partitioned into a plurality of contiguous subzones in the form of Geohash cells. FIG. 12A is a flow diagram of one exemplary process 1200 for subdividing a reference area into a grid of Geohash cells.

Subdividing a reference area into a grid of Geohash cells, process 1200 begins at block 1202 wherein a reference point of a sample vehicle way is mapped to a Geohash cell. For example, LAT/LONG coordinates of reference point 803 a is input into encode function 1108 and the corresponding Geohash string is output thereby. Shown in FIG. 12B is a simplified diagram of reference area 1008 a, including reference point 803 a and cell 1240, the Geohash cell to which reference point 803 a was mapped. Geohash cell 1240 serves as a centre cell from which a grid of contiguous Geohash cells for subdividing reference area 1008 a is formed.

Next at block 1204, a plurality of Geohash neighbours of the centre cell is determined. For instance, the Geohash string of the Geohash cell 1240 is input to Geohash neighbours function 1114, and corresponding strings of neighbour cells 1242 of Geohash cell 1240 are output. FIG. 12C is a simplified conceptual diagram of Geohash cell 1240 and its 8 closest neighbour cells 1242. Block 1204 repeats a similar step of determining neighbouring cells of neighbouring cells until reference area 1008 a is completely subdivided into a grid of contiguous Geohash cells, as shown in FIG. 12D. Block 1204 may utilize Geohash bounds function 1112 to determine when to stop process 1200. For example, coordinates for the boundary of reference area 1008 may be input into bounds function 1112 to determine which Geohash cells in the grid include the boundary. Once the entire boundary is within a Geohash, process 1200 may stop. One of ordinary skill appreciates that there are other methods to manipulate or divide space using a Geohash system.

Once reference areas are partitioned into a plurality of contiguous subzones, the associated zone may be defined by peripheral edges of the plurality of contiguous subzones. For instance, once reference areas 1008 a-1008 f are defined, they are partitioned into a plurality of contiguous subzones 1011 a-1011 f and the peripheral edges 1248 of each thereof define zones 1010 a-1010 f.

In general, subzones are not limited to a particular dimension, size or shape. However, these attributes may affect processing time and resources for defining and/or using a classification model. For instance, higher precision subzones will increase the number of subzones for processing in comparison to lower precision subzones for a given zone.

Embodiments described herein are not limited to partitioning a zone with Geohashes. For example, a zone may be partitioned according to another hierarchical geospatial indexing system, e.g., H3—Uber's Hexagonal Hierarchical Spatial Index, S2—Google's S2 geographic spatial indexing system, or other system. Alternatively, a zone may be partitioned according to another method for subdividing geographical space.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a zone may be defined in multiple ways. For instance, a plurality of contiguous subzones may be defined by creating a zone of a shape unique to a corresponding sample vehicle way, as shown in FIG. 9. In another instance, a reference area may be partitioned into a plurality of contiguous subzones to create a zone, as shown in FIG. 10B. The methods for defining a zone described herein are examples only and are not intended to limit embodiments.

According to some embodiments, for each of the plurality of zones, first subzone data may be formed. For each subzone, first subzone data may comprise information indicating a unique identifier and location (e.g., geographic coordinates of boundaries) of the subzone. First subzone data may also comprise information indicating the closest neighbours of the subzone and/or other subzone related information.

FIG. 13A is a simplified conceptual diagram of exemplary first subzone data 1302 formed for zone 1010 a. In this example, first subzone data 1302 comprises Geohash string data which serves as a unique identifier of each subzone. As described above, the location of a Geohash cell (i.e. subzone) may be determined from a Geohash string, such as by inputting a Geohash string into Geohash system function 1112.

Alternatively, first subzone data may comprise unique ID data which serves as a unique identifier of each subzone and boundary coordinates of boundaries thereof, such as LAT/LONG pairs. For example, FIG. 13B is a simplified conceptual diagram of first subzone data 1304 formed for zone 1010 a comprising Geohash string data which serves as a unique identifier of each subzone and LAT/LONG pairs defining boundaries of each Geohash.

Optionally, first subzone data may include information indicative of a Geohash cell's 8 closest neighbours.

In some instances, two or more of a plurality of zones may overlap, for example, zones 1010 d and 1010 f of FIG. 10B. However, in such instances, a subzone within more than one zone may skew training and/or output of a classification model. For example, vehicle data associated with subzones within multiple zones may be overrepresented in training and result in a biased classifier.

Block 704

Next, at block 704, a subzone common to multiple zones may be associated with a unique zone and then each of the multiple zones is redefined to include a new unique plurality of subzones. For example, first subzone data of the multiple zones are modified in accordance with the redefinition thereof. Block 704 will be described in further detail below with reference to FIGS. 14A-14C, FIGS. 15A-15B, and FIGS. 16A-16B.

In an exemplary implementation, the distance between the common subzone and each of the centre subzones of the multiple zones is calculated. The common subzone is uniquely associated with the zone having a centre subzone that is the shortest distance thereto.

For example, shown in FIG. 14A, is a simplified conceptual diagram of zones 1010 d and 1010 f comprising centre subzones 1404 and 1406 respectively, and a plurality of common subzones located within overlapping portion 1402 thereof. FIG. 14B is an enlarged view of a portion of zones 1010 d and 1010 f comprising overlapping portion 1402 that includes common subzone 1408. Distance D1 between common subzone 1408 and centre subzone 1404 of zone 1010 d is shorter than distance D2 between common subzone 1408 and centre subzone 1406 of zone 1010 f, as shown. As such, common subzone 1408 is uniquely associated with zone 1010 d and zone 1010 f is redefined to not include common subzone 1408. Each subzone within portion 1402 is analyzed and then uniquely associated with one of zones 1010 d and 1010 f followed by the redefinition thereof. FIG. 14C is a simplified conceptual diagram of redefined zones 1010 d and 1010 f.

FIG. 15A is a simplified conceptual diagram of zone 1010 a comprising vehicle-position data points 1502 representing positions of vehicles indicated by raw vehicle data. Now referring to FIG. 15B, shown is an enlarged view of portion 1012 of area 800 imposed on the diagram of FIG. 15A. Vehicle-position data points 1502 are present within sample intersection 802 a, areas 1504 in parking lots 805, portion 1508 of side street 1506, as well as in portions 1510 of non-traffic designated areas 807 (e.g., greenspace, sidewalks, as shown. Vehicle-position data points found in portions 1510 may be due to GPS error or other position sensing technology error. As described above, a classifier for identifying subzones as portions of a vehicle way will be defined based on raw vehicle data associated with the subzones and corresponding zone. FIG. 15B illustrates how vehicle traffic may be dispersed in a zone in practise. However, a classifier may be used to identify only those subzones that are occupied by the vehicle way based on raw vehicle data associated with the entire zone.

FIG. 16A shows an enlarged view of portion 1012 of area 800 comprising sample intersection 802 a and paths 1602, 1604 and 1606 of one or more vehicles that have traversed therethrough. A same vehicle may have traversed sample intersection 802 a at three different time intervals. Alternatively, three unique vehicles may have traversed sample intersection 802 a. Paths 1602, 1604 and 1606 may have been traversed by any combination of one or more vehicles.

Now referring to FIG. 16B, shown is a conceptual diagram of zone 1010 a and vehicle position-data points 1608 representing position data of raw vehicle data instances that correspond to a position along paths 1602, 1604 and 1606. As shown in FIG. 16B, no vehicle-position data points correspond to path 1606. Data collected by a monitoring device when inside a zone may depend on various factors, such as, the frequency a monitoring device collects operation information, the size of the zone, or other predefined criteria for collecting data, among others. As a result, there may be instances when a monitoring device collects little-to-no data when traversing a zone. Accordingly, there may be occasions when selecting raw vehicle data based on vehicle position data indicating a position within a zone may not provide enough meaningful information that relates to all vehicles that have entered the zone. It would be advantageous to maximize information available in historical vehicle data related to vehicles that have entered a zone.

Block 706

Next, at block 706, a subset of raw vehicle data associated with each of the plurality of zones is selected from historical vehicle data. In an exemplary implementation, traffic analytics system 104 a may access historical vehicle data, such as historical vehicle data in database 209, for selecting the subset stored by traffic analytics system 104 a via communication network 110.

According to an embodiment, the subset of raw vehicle data may be selected based on positions inside a zone. Optionally, the subset of raw vehicle data may be selected based on positions inside and outside the zone. FIG. 16C illustrates vehicle position-data points corresponding to positions within portion 1012 of area 800. Including raw vehicle data corresponding to positions both inside and outside zone 1010 a in the subset enables inclusion of raw vehicle data corresponding to the positions on path 1604, represented by vehicle-position data points 1616. This also enables inclusion of more raw vehicle instances corresponding to paths 1602 and 1606, represented by vehicle-position data points 1618.

Block 708

Next, in block 708 interpolating data instances from the subset of raw vehicle data may be performed. For example, FIG. 16D illustrates vehicle-position data points 1621 corresponding to interpolated data instances. Selecting raw vehicle data corresponding to locations inside and outside a zone, at block 706, and then interpolating data therefrom at block 708, may provide more meaningful data for the purpose of training a machine learning algorithm in comparison to training based on raw vehicle data instances corresponding to locations inside a zone only. Block 708 is described further below with reference to FIGS. 16E-16F, FIG. 17, and FIGS. 18A-18B.

Optionally, data instances are interpolated in dependence on the dimensions of subzones of a zone. For example, interpolating data such that there is one of an interpolated instance or raw vehicle data instance corresponding to a position in each subzone along a given path of a vehicle. Referring to FIG. 16E, shown is a conceptual diagram of zone 1010 a comprising plurality of subzones 1011 a of less than or equal to 4.77 m×4.77 m. In this example, data instances are interpolated such that there is at least one of an interpolated instance or raw vehicle data instance corresponding to a location in each subzone.

Alternatively, data may be interpolated from raw vehicle data corresponding to positions only inside a zone. Such as interpolated data instances corresponding to vehicle-position data points 1614, along portions 1610 and 1612 of paths 1602 and 1606, as shown in FIG. 16F.

Alternatively, there may be a sufficient amount of meaningful raw vehicle data corresponding to locations inside a zone that selecting raw vehicle data corresponding to locations outside a zone is unnecessary. Alternatively, there may be a sufficient amount of meaningful raw vehicle data in historical vehicle data that interpolation is unnecessary.

According to some embodiments, the subset of raw vehicle data associated with a zone comprises raw vehicle data corresponding to positions within a traffic zone. In some instances, a traffic zone may encompass a unique zone. In other instances, a traffic zone may encompass more than one zone. FIG. 17 is a simplified diagram of an exemplary implementation of traffic zone 1700 encompassing zones 1010 a-1010 f. For instance, geographic coordinates of boundaries 1702 of traffic zone 1700 are provided to traffic analytics system 104 a for defining traffic zone 1700.

FIG. 18A is a simplified block diagram of process 1800 a for obtaining data, hereinafter referred to as vehicle data, for generating features. Vehicle data may be indicative of vehicle operating conditions for a plurality of corresponding vehicles. As mentioned above, such data may be a subset of raw vehicle data selected from historical vehicle data 404 that corresponds to a location within a zone and/or traffic zone. For example, boundary data 1802 comprises zone boundary data and/or traffic zone data indicative of locations of boundaries of a zone and/or a traffic zone, respectively. In block 1804, raw vehicle data is selected from historical vehicle data 404 based on boundary data 1802 to form first vehicle data 1810.

FIG. 18B is a simplified block diagram of an alternative process 1800 b for obtaining vehicle data for generating features. Such data may be a subset of raw vehicle data selected from historical vehicle data 404 that corresponds to a location within a zone and/or traffic zone. For example, boundary data 1802 comprises zone boundary data and/or traffic zone data indicative of locations of boundaries of a zone and traffic zone, respectively. In block 1804, raw vehicle data is selected from historical vehicle data 404 based on boundary data 1802. Next, in block 1806, data is interpolated from the raw vehicle data selected in block 1804 and first vehicle data 1810 comprising the raw vehicle data and the data interpolated therefrom is formed.

Optionally, raw vehicle data selected from historical vehicle data 404 may be selected based on date and time operating conditions are logged. For instance, raw vehicle data corresponding to a particular date and/or time range is selected. For example, only raw vehicle data collected over the last 3 months may be selected.

Optionally, at block 1804, the selected data is pre-processed, the selected data is pre-processed, such as, by removing outliers (e.g., unlikely speed values), duplicate values, and the like.

Block 710

Next, in block 710, features for each of the plurality of subzones of each of the plurality of zones are extracted from vehicle data. Features of the types described herein may include features that are present in a vehicle data instance or a subset of vehicle data instances and/or features derived therefrom. Features present in an instance or a subset of instances may include numeric values that are explicitly set out therein. Specific and non-limiting examples of such features include a minimum or maximum numeric value in the subset (where a minimum/maximum may be absolute and/or relative). The minimum or maximum data value may require some analysis, such as a comparison of values, but the minimum/maximum value itself will be a value found within the subset. For instance, a plurality of vehicle data instances in a vehicle data subset may be analyzed to determine a maximum speed of the subset. Block 710 is further described below with reference to FIGS. 19A-19B, FIGS. 20A-20E, FIG. 21, FIGS. 22A-22B, FIG. 23, and FIGS. 24A-24B.

Derived features may describe an instance or subset of vehicle data instances, but include a value not found therein. Instead, a value of a derived feature may be derived from the instance or subset, such as obtained through performing one or more computations on the instance or subset. Specific and non-limiting examples of derived features include average speed, total number of vehicle visits and ignition ratio. Optionally, a derived feature may describe a first derived feature forming a second derivative of the first derived feature. Additional derivatives of features may also be possible.

The features may additionally or alternatively be derived from the performance of one or more statistical computations on a vehicle data subset. For instance, a derived feature that may be employed may include standard deviation, mean, and median of values found in a vehicle data subset. For example, standard deviation, mean, and/or median of speed values of vehicles that have traversed a subzone. Features will be described in greater detail below.

The features may be prepared for use in training the model, for instance, by traffic analytics system 104 a. Preparing the data may include various functions such as removing outliers (e.g., unlikely speed values), duplicate values, and the like.

FIG. 19A is a conceptual block diagram of a feature extraction function for generating features from vehicle data. In block 1904, a subset of vehicle data for each of the plurality of subzones of the plurality of zones may be selected from vehicle data based on first subzone data. Once selected, the subset of vehicle data is analyzed and/or computations are performed thereon to extract/generate subzone features 1906. For each subzone in each zone, a plurality of features is generated. These features may be used to identify patterns in the features by a machine learning algorithm during training for defining a classifier.

For example, a subset of vehicle data is selected from first vehicle data 1810 based on first subzone data 1902 for each of the plurality of subzones of zones 1010 a-1010 f. Once selected, the subset of vehicle data instances is analyzed and/or computations are performed thereon to extract/generate subzone features 1906. For instance, for each Geohash in zones 1010 a-1010 f, a plurality of features, (e.g., F1-Fn) are generated. FIG. 19B is an exemplary table 1908 representing data comprising a plurality of features for each Geohash.

Subzone-Related Features

According to an embodiment, a plurality of subzone-related features is based on and/or derived from a subset of vehicle data associated with each subzone.

In a first exemplary implementation, the subset is a first subset of vehicle data corresponding to a position within a subzone. Subzone-related features indicate measurements/attributes of vehicle operating conditions of at least one vehicle that has operated in the subzone.

For example, FIG. 20A is a conceptual diagram of portion 2002 of zone 1010 a as demarcated by line 1250A-1250A of FIG. 12D. Portion 2002 comprises subzone 2004, as shown. An enlarged view of subzone 2004 is depicted in FIG. 20B comprising vehicle-position data points 2006 each thereof indicative of a position of one or more vehicles that have entered subzone 2004 at one point in time.

Illustrated in FIG. 20C is a simplified functional block diagram of a function that may be implemented at block 1904. First vehicle data 1810 and subzone 2004 first subzone data 2007 is provided in block 2008 and a first subset of vehicle data corresponding to a position within subzone 2004 may be selected. The first subset of vehicle data is represented by the vehicle-position data points 2006 shown in FIG. 20B. Once selected, the first subset of vehicle data is processed at block 2010. For instance, the first subset of vehicle data instances may be analyzed and/or have computations performed thereon at block 2010 to form at least one feature 2012.

FIG. 20D is a table 2014 representing an example of a first subset of vehicle data corresponding to a position within subzone 2004. Position data 2018 of each instance 2016 is represented by vehicle-position data points 2006 as shown in FIG. 20B. Subzone-related features formed from processing the first subset of vehicle data are indicative of attributes/measurements of vehicle operating data of vehicles with corresponding device IDs ID1, ID2, ID3, ID4, when operating in subzone 2004. These subzone-related features may be used by the ML algorithm to identify patterns. For descriptive purposes, only 4 vehicles are shown to have entered subzone 2004, in this example. In practice however, the number of vehicles that may enter a subzone may be more or less than four.

Some specific and non-limiting examples of the subzone-related features are provided in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 Subzone-related Features Minimum vehicle speed Maximum vehicle speed Average vehicle speed Median vehicle speed Standard deviation of vehicle speed Minimum ignition Maximum ignition Total number of ignitions on Total number of ignitions off Average number of ignitions Ignition ratio Total number of vehicle visits Average number of visits/vehicle Minimum number of vehicle visits/day Maximum number of vehicle visits/day Average number of vehicle visits/day Median number of vehicle visits/day Standard deviation of number of vehicle visits/day Minimum unique number of vehicle visits/day Maximum unique number of vehicle visits/day Median unique number of vehicle visits/day Standard deviation of unique number of vehicle visits/day Average unique number of visits/day Total number of unique vehicle visits

Other subzone-related features may be based on and/or are derived from the first subset of vehicle data instances. Embodiments are not intended to be limited to the example features described herein. FIG. 20E is a table of exemplary subzone-related features and feature values based on the subset of vehicle data instances. Other features may be based on and/or be derived from the first subset of vehicle data.

Ignition state indicates whether a vehicle is in a driveable state or not. For example, an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle has an ignition state of on when the engine is on. An ICE vehicle has an ignition state of off when the engine is off, even if electrical power is provided to vehicle circuitry by the battery. In another example, an electric vehicle (EV) has an ignition state of on when electricity is provided to the EV's electric motor, whereas the ignition state is off when no electricity is provided to the EV's electric motor.

The minimum ignition feature of a subzone has a value of 1 only when all vehicles that have entered a subzone have an ignition state of 1. This may indicate that the vehicle way is not employed as a parking area.

The maximum ignition feature has a value of 0 only when all vehicles in a subzone have an ignition state of off. This may indicate that the subzone is a portion of vehicle way employed as a parking area.

The ignition ratio feature is defined as,

${{Ignition}\mspace{14mu} {ratio}} = \frac{{Total}\mspace{14mu} {number}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {ignitions}\mspace{14mu} {off}}{\begin{matrix} {\left( {{Total}\mspace{14mu} {number}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {ignitions}\mspace{14mu} {off}} \right) +} \\ \left( {{Total}\mspace{14mu} {number}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {ignitions}\mspace{14mu} {on}} \right) \end{matrix}}$

In a second exemplary implementation, subzone-related features may be based on and/or derived from the first subset of vehicle data and a second subset of vehicle data including vehicle data temporally preceding and/or subsequent thereto for a same vehicle.

For instance, the first and second subsets of vehicle data may be processed for providing subzone-related features indicative of dwell time of a vehicle within a given subzone. Shown in FIG. 21 is a simplified diagram of subzone 2004 and vehicle-position data point 2006 representing a vehicle position at T1 according to vehicle data. A dwell time of a vehicle within subzone 2004 may be determined by obtaining vehicle data corresponding to the same vehicle at a preceding point in time, T0, and a subsequent point in time, T2, represented by vehicle-position data points 2106 and 2108 respectively. As geographic coordinates of boundaries of subzone 2004 are known, the time TA (2110) between the time a vehicle enters subzone 2004 and arrives at vehicle-position data point 2006, and the time TB (2112) between the time the vehicle leaves vehicle-position data point 2006 and exits subzone 2004 may be determined. The dwell time, (e.g., how long the vehicle is in a subzone) may be calculated by, T_(DWELL)=TA+TB. For each vehicle that enters subzone 2004 a dwell time is calculated and features, average dwell time, minimum dwell time, maximum dwell time, median dwell time and standard deviation of dwell time are based thereon or derived therefrom.

In a third exemplary implementation, subzone-related features may be based on and/or derived from the first subset of vehicle data and a third subset of vehicle data including vehicle data corresponding to vehicle data temporally subsequent thereto for a same vehicle. In this example subzone-related features relates to the travel time of a vehicle between a location within a subzone and the first location the vehicle ignition state is off. In other words, the travel time between a position within a subzone and position the vehicle parks, i.e., time to park.

FIG. 22A is a simplified diagram of a path of a vehicle that has traversed subzone 2004 having a related vehicle data instance corresponding to vehicle-position data point 2006 at time T1, as shown. Each temporally subsequent vehicle data instance is represented by a vehicle-position data points 2204 at times T1-T14 each representing a new location of a same vehicle at consecutive points in time as the vehicle travels along path 2200. Vehicle-position data point 2206 at T14 represents the first location the vehicle ignition is turned off, indicating that the car has parked. The time to park from vehicle-position data point 2006 to 2206 may be calculated as T_(TIMETOPARK)=T14−T1. For each vehicle that enters subzone 2004 the time to park is calculated to provide subzone-related features such as, average time to park, minimum time to park, maximum time to park, median time to park, and standard deviation of time to park.

Table 2210 of FIG. 22B represents a third subset of vehicle data corresponding to vehicle-position data points 2204 at times T1-T14.

In some cases, a vehicle ignition is ON and the speed is 0 km/hr, such as at T9. For example, when a vehicle is not moving yet the ignition is on. For instance, at red lights, stop signs, heavy traffic (stop-and-go), picking up passengers, going through a drive through, among others.

Zone-Related Features

According to an embodiment, zone-related features may be based on and/or derived from a fourth subset of vehicle data instances associated with the zone and/or subzone-related features. Table 2 lists specific and non-limiting examples of such zone-related features. These zone-related features may be determined for each subzone of the plurality of subzones for each zone of the plurality of zones.

TABLE 2 Zone-Related Features Zone Minimum Ignition OFF Zone Maximum Ignition OFF Zone Average Vehicle Speed Zone Maximum Vehicle Speed Zone Minimum Vehicle Speed Zone Average Number of Unique Visits/Day Zone Minimum Number of Unique Visits/Day Zone Maximum Number of Unique Visits/Day Zone Average Median Number of Unique Visits/Day Zone Total Average Number of Unique Visits/Day

In a first exemplary implementation, zone average speed may be determined by selecting a subset of vehicle data instances corresponding to a position within a zone and calculating the average speed therefrom.

In a second exemplary implementation, zone average speed may be determined by calculating an average of the average speed subzone-related features of all subzones in a zone.

According to an embodiment, other zone-related features may be based on and/or derived from a fifth subset of vehicle data instances associated with the zone. Table 3 lists specific and non-limiting examples of such zone-related features. These zone-related features may be determined for each subzone of the plurality of subzones for each zone of the plurality of zones.

TABLE 3 Zone-Related Features Zone Total Number of Visits Zone Total Number of Unique Visits

In an exemplary implementation, zone total number of visits may be determined by selecting a subset of vehicle data instances corresponding to a position within a zone and calculating the total number of vehicles that correspond to the zone.

According to an embodiment, other zone-related features may be based on and/or derived from another portion of subzone-related features. Table 4 lists specific and non-limiting examples of such zone-related features. These zone-related features may be determined for each subzone of the plurality of subzones for each zone of the plurality of zones.

TABLE 4 Zone-Related Features Zone Average Time to Park Zone Maximum Time to Park Zone Minimum Time to Park Zone Maximum Dwell Time Zone Minimum Dwell Time Zone Median Dwell Time Zone Average Dwell Time Zone Minimum Number of Unique Visits Zone Average Number of Unique Visits Zone Maximum Number of Unique Visits Zone Average Total Number of Visits Zone Maximum Total Number of Visits Zone Minimum Total Number of Visits

For example, zone average dwell time may be determined by calculating an average of the average dwell time subzone-related features of all subzones in a zone.

Subzone-Zone-Related Features

According to an embodiment, subzone-zone-related features may be based on and/or derived from a portion of subzone-related features in relationship to a portion of zone-related features. Subzone-zone-related features are determined for each subzone of the plurality of subzones for each zone of the plurality of zones.

Specific and non-limiting examples of relationship-based features are listed in Table 5 below.

TABLE 5 Subzone-Zone-Related Features Minimum Vehicle Speed Ratio Average Vehicle Speed Ratio Maximum Vehicle Speed Ratio Minimum Ignition Off Ratio Maximum Ignition Off Ratio Maximum Dwell Time Ratio Minimum Dwell Time Ratio Average Median Dwell Time Ratio Average Dwell Time Ratio Minimum Time to Park Ratio Average Time to Park Ratio Maximum Time to Park Ratio Minimum Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio Maximum Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio Average Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio Minimum Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio Maximum Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio Average Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio Total Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio Average Median Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio Minimum Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio Maximum Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio Average Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio Total Number of Vehicle Unique Visits Ratio Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio

In an exemplary implementation, subzone-zone-related feature average speed ratio may be determined by calculating the ratio of subzone-related feature average speed to zone-related feature, zone average speed.

As described above, raw vehicle data may be selected from historical vehicle data based on a particular date and/or time period. As such, values of features described herein may vary accordingly.

Spatial-Related Features

According to an embodiment, spatial-related features may be based on and/or derived from spatial relationship data of a subzone to the zone. According to an embodiment, spatial-related features may be based on and/or derived from a spatial relationship data of a subzone to the plurality of subzones, or a portion thereof, of a zone.

In a first exemplary implementation, for each subzone, a spatial-related feature may be based on and/or derived from the distance of the subzone to the centre point of a zone. For instance, one method for determining the distance between a subzone and the centre point of a zone comprises, determining a location of a centre point of the subzone and the location of the centre point of the centre subzone of a zone. Next, the distance therebetween is calculated. For example, shown in FIG. 23 is a simplified diagram of portion 2002 including vehicle-position data point 2006 of subzone 2004, and reference point 803 a, which may be a centre point, of zone 1010 a. The distance 2304 between vehicle-position data point 2006 (i.e., centre point) and reference point 803 a is determined, for instance, by using the Haversine formula.

In a second exemplary implementation, for each subzone, a feature may be based on and/or derived from the number of subzones adjacent the subzone (e.g., number of Geohash neighbours). FIG. 24A is a simplified conceptual diagram of portion 2002 including subzone 2004 having 8 adjacent subzones 2402. FIG. 24B is also a simplified conceptual diagram of portion 2002 including subzone 2404 having 4 adjacent subzones 2406. In these examples, the features for subzones 2004 and 2404 may have values 8 and 4 respectively. Alternatively, features for subzones 2004 and 2404 may have values be derived therefrom.

In a third exemplary implementation, for each subzone, a feature may be based on and/or derived from the number of subzones adjacent the subzone (e.g., number of Geohash neighbours) having vehicle data corresponding to a location therein. FIG. 24A shows subzone 2004 having 8 adjacent subzones 2402. If no vehicle data corresponds to 3 of those adjacent subzones the value of the feature is 5. In other words, if vehicles did not enter 3 of the 8 subzones, the number of adjacent subzones having vehicle data corresponding to a location therein is 5.

Spatial-related features are determined for each subzone of the plurality of subzones for each zone of the plurality of zones.

Example features are not intended to limit embodiments to the features described herein.

Block 712

In block 712 training data is formed. For instance, for each subzone, above described features are determined to create training data. Training data further includes an indication of the class of each subzone.

Shown in FIG. 25A is a conceptual diagram of a portion of sample vehicle way in the form of sample intersection 802 a and zone 1010 a imposed thereon. Shaded subzones 2502 of zone 1010 a indicate that they are portions of sample intersection 802, whereas the unshaded subzones 2504 are not portions of sample intersection. Table 2510 of FIG. 25B represents training data including subzone ID, a plurality of features generated for each associated subzone, and a class label, indicating a subzone is one of a ‘vehicle way’ class, (e.g., a portion of sample vehicle way, such as sample intersection 802 a) or a ‘not-vehicle way’ class (e.g., not a portion of a sample vehicle way).

Block 714

Finally, in block 714, a machine learning technique, such as random forest technique, is implemented using training data to define a classifier for classifying a subzone as one of a vehicle way class or not-vehicle way class. The training data used may include all or a portion of the features described herein. Optionally, other features may be included in the training data.

For example, FIG. 25C is a high-level flow diagram of an exemplary process 2520 for using a machine learning technique to define a classifier for classifying subzones. Process 2520 begins at block 2522 where training data, such as training data represented by table 2510, is input to a machine learning algorithm. Next, at block 2524, a classifier that is generated by training the ML algorithm is verified, and at block 2526 the performance of the classifier is evaluated. If the classifier meets performance criteria, (e.g., passes verification) process 2520 ends at block 2530. However, if the performance criteria are not met, (e.g., fails verification), the process 2520 continues to block 2528 where modifications to training data or machine learning algorithm parameters may be performed and process 2520 continues until the defined classifier meets the required performance criteria.

Optionally, modifications to other parameters may also be performed should performance criteria not be met. Such as, the relative position of the reference areas from the reference points and/or subzone dimensions (e.g., Geohash precision). When performance criteria are met, classifier data associated with the classifier may be generated. Such classifier data may be indicative of the relative position of the reference areas from the reference points that were used for defining the classifier. The classifier data may also be indicative of subzone dimensions (e.g., Geohash precision) of subzones used for defining the classifier. This classifier data may be useful when using the classifier for defining a vehicle way. Each classifier may have unique classifier data associated therewith.

According to some embodiments, a road network may be defined by partitioning an area into subzones and classifying each thereof as a portion of the road network (i.e., portion of a vehicle way) or not a portion of the road network (i.e., not a portion of a vehicle way) using at least a machine learning technique. Some embodiments include generating unlabelled data including features representing each of the subzones for classification thereof by a classifier. In some instances, features may be based on and/or derived from vehicle operation information of vehicles corresponding to one or more subzones. Aggregating subzones classified as a portion of a road network may provide an indication of a geographical location thereof from which a road network may be defined.

Subprocess 2600

Shown in FIG. 26A is a flow diagram of subprocess 2600 for defining a road network using a machine learning technique according to an embodiment. Subprocess 2600 is described below as being carried out by traffic analytics system 104 a. Alternatively, subprocess 2600 may be carried out by telematics system 102, traffic analytics system 104 b, intelligent telematics system 500 a, 500 b, another system, a combination of other systems, subsystems, devices or other suitable means provided the operations described herein are performed. Subprocess 2600 may be automated, semi-automated and some blocks thereof may be manually performed.

In an exemplary implementation, traffic analytics system 104 a is configured to obtain, store and process second historical vehicle data. For example, traffic analytics system 104 a obtains second historical vehicle data, for instance, second historical vehicle data 2620, from telematics system 102 and stores it in datastore 304 in database 2629. FIG. 26B shows a conceptual diagram of database 2629. In this example, traffic analytics system 104 a organizes second historical vehicle data 2620 by vehicle based on associated device ID. For instance, datasets 2622-2624 of database 2629 comprise raw vehicle data indicative of vehicle operation information of vehicles 212-214, respectively.

Shown in FIG. 26C is a conceptual diagram of dataset 2622. In this example, each row thereof represents a raw vehicle data instance 2626 indicative of vehicle operation information collected by monitoring device 202 at different points in time. Raw vehicle data instances 2626 of dataset 2622 are organized sequentially in time, from DT10 to DT15. In this example, a raw vehicle data instance 2626 includes device ID data, speed data, position data, (e.g., LAT/LONG), ignition state data, and date and time data, (e.g., timestamp), as shown.

Block 2602

Subprocess 2600 begins at block 2602 wherein subprocess 2600 includes defining a road network area comprising a road network of interest. A road network area may be defined in a geospatial file (e.g., shape file (.shp), GeoJSON (.geojson)). Alternatively, a road network area may be defined in another data format indicative of, for example, a polygon, latitude-longitude pairs, GPS coordinates indicating a location of four corners bounding the road network area, among others. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that there are multiple data formats for defining geographical coordinates of boundaries of an area.

For instance, data indicating latitude-longitude pairs defining boundaries of a road network area may be provided to traffic analytics system 104 a, for example, by a user. Alternatively, traffic analytics system 104 a may obtain such data from a governmental agency that stores data describing geographic coordinates of boundaries of municipalities, communities or other areas of interest, on a publicly accessible server, such as a server accessible via the Internet. Shown in FIG. 27 is a simplified diagram of an exemplary road network area 2700 defined by latitude-longitude pairs, including latitude pair, (2702, 2704) and longitude pair, (2706, 2708). In this example, road network area 2700 is square-shaped, however, a road network area may be any shape and/or size.

Block 2604

Next, at block 2604, subprocess 2600 includes partitioning the road network area into a plurality of contiguous second subzones, to define a road network zone. At this block, subprocess 2600 may generate second subzone data, indicative of a second subzone ID of each second subzone in the road network zone. Optionally, second subzone data may include an indication of the boundaries of each second subzone.

In an exemplary implementation, a road network zone may be defined by partitioning a road network area into a grid of contiguous second subzones according to a hierarchical geospatial indexing system. Specific and non-limiting examples of hierarchical geospatial indexing systems include Geohash, Uber's Hexagonal Hierarchical Spatial Index, i.e., H3, and Google's S2 Geographic Spatial Index, i.e., S2. In another exemplary implementation, a road network area may be subdivided into a grid of contiguous second subzones bound by latitude-longitude pairs. Alternatively, a road network area may be partitioned according to another method for subdividing geographical space. One of ordinary skill appreciates that there are various methods for subdividing a geographical space into a plurality of contiguous second subzones.

Described further below are steps at block 2614 wherein subprocess 2600 includes utilizing a classifier for classifying each of the plurality of contiguous second subzones in the road network zone. In some instances, classifier data uniquely associated with a classifier utilized at block 2614 may indicate a method for partitioning a road network area, e.g., a hierarchical geospatial system, second subzone dimensions and/or other parameters associated with the classifier.

For example, classifier data associated with a classifier utilized at block 2614 indicates road network area 2700 is to be partitioned into a plurality of contiguous second subzones according to a Geohash hierarchical geospatial indexing system with a Geohash precision of 9. A precision of 9 corresponds to dimensions of Geohashes less than or equal to 4.77 m×4.77 m.

In the present example, traffic analytics system 104 a partitions road network area 2700 into a plurality of Geohashes 2802 of precision 9 forming road network zone 2800 as shown in FIG. 28A. Traffic analytics system 104 a also generates second subzone data indicating a second subzone ID for each Geohash 2802 in road network zone 2800. FIG. 28B shows exemplary second subzone data 2804 including a second subzone ID for each Geohash 2802. In this example, a second subzone ID corresponds to a Geohash string of that particular Geohash. For instance, second subzone data 2804 a for Geohash 2802 a includes second subzone ID ‘GeohasString1,’ second subzone data 2804 b for Geohash 2802 b includes second subzone ID ‘GeohashString2’, and so on.

Alternatively, traffic analytics system 104 a generates second subzone data indicating a second subzone ID for each Geohash 2802 in road network zone 2800 and a boundary thereof. FIG. 28C shows exemplary second subzone data 2806 including a second subzone ID for each Geohash 2802 in road network zone 2800. In this example second subzone data 2806 includes a second subzone ID corresponding to a Geohash string of that Geohash, and boundaries thereof. Boundaries of each Geohash 2802 is indicated by a latitude-longitude pair. For instance, second subzone data 2806 a for Geohash 2802 a includes a second subzone ID ‘GeohashString1’ and boundary corresponding to (LAT1, LAT2), (LONG1, LONG2) PAIR1. Second subzone data 2806 b for Geohash 2802 b a second subzone ID ‘GeohashString2’ and boundary corresponding to (LAT1, LAT2), (LONG1, LONG2) PAIR2.

Boundaries of a Geohash may be determined by use of a Geohash bounds function as described above in reference to FIG. 11D. For example, traffic analytics system 104 a may determine a boundary for each Geohash 2802 by implementing a Geohash system bounds function on an associated Geohash string, i.e., second subzone ID.

Next, subprocess 2600 proceeds to one of block 2605 or block 2606.

Block 2606

At block 2606, subprocess 2600 includes selecting a second subset of raw vehicle data from second historical vehicle data corresponding to the road network zone.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a selects a second subset of a raw vehicle data from second historical vehicle data 2620 corresponding to road network zone 2800. I.e., a second subset of raw vehicle data having position data indicating a position within boundaries of road network zone 2800 is selected from second historical vehicle data 2620.

Now referring to FIG. 29, shown is a simplified diagram of road network zone 2800 and exemplary paths 2902, 2904 and 2906, taken by three vehicles that have traversed therethrough. For instance, a same vehicle may have traversed road network zone 2800 at three different time intervals. Alternatively, a combination of one or more vehicles may have traversed road network zone 2800.

Also shown in FIG. 29 are vehicle position-data points 2908 representing position data of raw vehicle data corresponding to paths 2902, 2904 and 2906 within road network zone 2800. Monitoring devices may transmit raw vehicle data intermittently, as illustrated by lack of vehicle position-data points 2908 on portions 2910 of paths 2902, 2904 and 2906.

Transmission of raw vehicle data by a monitoring device may depend on various factors, such as, the frequency a monitoring device collects vehicle operation information, changes in direction of travel of a vehicle, or lack thereof, among others. As such, there may be instances when a monitoring device transmits little raw vehicle data while traversing a road network zone.

Block 2610

A method for increasing an amount of data indicative of vehicle operation within a road network zone may include interpolating data. For instance, after block 2606, subprocess 2600 may proceed to block 2610 wherein subprocess 2600 includes interpolating data instances from the second subset of raw vehicle data selected in block 2606.

In the present example, traffic analytics system 104 a interpolated data instances from the second subset of raw vehicle data instances selected from second historical vehicle data. For example, shown in FIG. 30 is another simplified diagram of road network zone 2800, exemplary paths 2902, 2904 and 2906, vehicle position-data points 2908, as well as interpolated vehicle position-data points 3002 interpolated by traffic analytics system 104 a. FIG. 30 illustrates that interpolating data instances may increase the amount of data indicative of vehicle operation information of vehicles corresponding to road network zone 2800. In some instances, there may still be portions of paths 2902, 2904 and 2906, such as portions 3004, for which no vehicle operation information is available.

Optionally, at block 2606 and/or at block 2610, the second subset of raw vehicle data and/or the second subset of raw vehicle data and interpolated data, interpolated therefrom, is pre-processed. For example, by removing outliers (e.g., unlikely speed values), duplicate values, and the like.

Another method for increasing an amount of vehicle operation information related to vehicles traversing a road network zone includes selecting a second subset of raw vehicle data within and beyond boundaries of the road network zone.

Block 2605

For instance, instead of proceeding to block 2606 after block 2604, subprocess 2600 proceeds to block 2605. At block 2605, subprocess 2600 includes defining a second traffic zone larger than, and encompassing, the road network zone for selecting a second subset of raw vehicle data from second historical vehicle data. In some instances, a second traffic zone boundary may be based on a predefined distance from boundaries of the road network zone.

In the present example, traffic analytics system 104 a defines a second traffic zone 3100 based on a predefined parameter, such as 500 m, from the boundary of road network zone 2800, as shown in FIG. 31. Second traffic zone 3100 encompasses and extends beyond the boundaries of road network zone 2800, as shown.

According to an embodiment, a second traffic zone may be defined based on a user configurable parameter. For example, a user provides input to traffic analytics system 104 a, via a user interface thereof, indicating a distance from the boundary of the road network zone 2800 defining the second traffic zone 3100. Alternatively, a user provides a data file comprising data indicative of the boundary of the second traffic zone.

According to another embodiment, a second traffic zone may be user definable. For example, a data file comprising data indicative of the boundary of a second traffic zone 3100 is input to traffic analytics system 104 a, via a user interface thereof. Alternatively, a data file is transmitted to traffic analytics system 104 a, for example, via network interface 306. An exemplary data file includes a geospatial file (e.g., shape file (.shp), GeoJSON (.geojson)).

According to yet another embodiment, a second traffic zone may be defined based on data retrieved from a remote source. For example, traffic analytics system 104 a may obtain data from a governmental agency that stores data describing boundaries of the road network area, e.g., geographic coordinates of boundaries of municipalities, communities, on a publicly accessible server, such as a server accessible via the Internet. Traffic analytics system 104 a may then add a predefined buffer extending beyond the boundary of road network zone 2800 to determine the boundary of second traffic zone 3100. For example, a predefined buffer may be 2 km. In this example, traffic analytics system 104 determines the boundaries of second traffic zone 3100 to be located 2 km from the boundaries of road network zone 2800.

Block 2607

Next at block 2607, subprocess 2600 includes selecting a second subset of raw vehicle data from second historical vehicle data corresponding to the second traffic zone.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a selects a second subset of raw vehicle data from second historical vehicle data 2620 corresponding to positions within second traffic zone 3100. Referring again to FIG. 31, illustrated are vehicle position-data points 3102 representing position data of the second subset of raw vehicle data selected in block 2607 corresponding to paths 2902, 2904 and 2906 within second traffic zone 3100.

Block 2609

Next, at block 2609, subprocess 2600 includes interpolating data instances from the second subset of raw vehicle data selected in block 2607.

In the present example, traffic analytics system 104 a interpolates data instances from the second subset of raw vehicle data selected from second historical vehicle data 2620 corresponding to second traffic zone 3100. FIG. 32 illustrates interpolated vehicle position-data points 3202 corresponding to data instances interpolated by traffic analytics system 104 a as well as vehicle position-data points 3102 representing position data of the second subset of raw vehicle data corresponding to paths 2902, 2904 and 2908 within second traffic zone 3100.

Selecting a second subset of raw vehicle data corresponding to locations within and beyond a road network zone and interpolating data therefrom may provide more vehicle operation information in comparison to a second subset of raw vehicle data corresponding solely to a road network zone.

In some instances, data instances may be interpolated in dependence on the dimensions of second subzones of a road network zone. For example, data instances may be interpolated such that there is approximately one of an interpolated instance or raw vehicle data instance corresponding to a position in each second subzone along a path of a vehicle. Alternatively, data instances may be interpolated in dependence on classifier data. For example, classifier data associated with a classifier utilized in block 2614 may indicate data instances are to be interpolated such that there is approximately one of an interpolated instance or raw vehicle data instance every 10 m along a path of a vehicle.

Optionally, at block 2607 and/or block 2609, the second subset of raw vehicle data and/or the second subset of raw data and interpolated data is pre-processed. For example, by removing outliers (e.g., unlikely speed values), duplicate values, and the like.

Optionally, a second subset of raw vehicle data selected from second historical vehicle data may be selected based on date and time vehicle operating conditions are logged. For instance, the second subset of raw vehicle data corresponds to a particular date and/or time range. For example, only raw vehicle data collected over the last 3 months is selected.

Block 2611

Next, at block 2611, subprocess 2600 includes processing second vehicle data for generating features for each of the plurality of contiguous second subzones in the road network zone. Second vehicle data includes one of, the second subset of raw vehicle data provided at block 2606, the second subset of raw vehicle data and interpolated data provided at block 2610, and the second subset of raw vehicle data and interpolated data provided at block 2609. Second vehicle data includes one or more second vehicle data instances corresponding to a second subzone (i.e., includes position data indicative of a position within a subzone.) Second vehicle data may be preprocessed by removing outliers (e.g., unlikely speed values), duplicate values, and the like.

Features for each of the plurality of second subzones of the road network zone are extracted from second vehicle data including at least one second vehicle data instance. Features of the types described herein may include features that are present in a second vehicle data instance or a subset of second vehicle data instances and/or features derived therefrom. Features present in an instance or a subset of instances may include numeric values that are explicitly set out therein. Specific and non-limiting examples of such features include a minimum or maximum numeric value in the subset (where a minimum/maximum may be absolute and/or relative). The minimum or maximum data value may require some analysis, such as a comparison of values, but the minimum/maximum value itself will be a value found within the subset. For instance, a plurality of second vehicle data instances in a subset of second vehicle data may be analyzed to determine a maximum speed of the subset.

Derived features may describe an instance or subset of second vehicle data instances, but include a value not found therein. Instead, a value of a derived feature may be derived from the instance or subset, such as obtained through performing one or more computations on the instance or subset. Specific and non-limiting examples of derived features include average speed, total number of vehicle visits and ignition ratio. Optionally, a derived feature may describe a first derived feature forming a second derivative of the first derived feature. Additional derivatives of features may also be possible.

The features may additionally or alternatively be derived from the performance of one or more statistical computations on a second vehicle data subset. For instance, a derived feature that may be employed may include standard deviation, mean, and median of values found in a second vehicle data subset. For example, standard deviation, mean, and/or median of speed values of vehicles that have traversed a second subzone. Features will be described in greater detail below.

Processing second vehicle data for generating features for each of the second subzones in road network zone at block 2611 may include generating second subzone-related features, road network zone-related features, second subzone-road network zone-related features, spatial-related features, and/or other features. Generation of features at block 2611 is described below with reference to FIG. 33 to FIG. 38A

Second Subzone-Related Features

According to an embodiment, a plurality of second subzone-related features is based on and/or derived from a subset of second vehicle data associated with each second subzone.

In a first exemplary implementation, a plurality of second subzone-related features is based on and/or derived from a first subset of second vehicle data corresponding to a position within a second subzone. In this example, second subzone-related features indicate measurements/attributes of vehicle operating conditions of at least one vehicle that has operated in the second subzone.

For example, FIG. 33 is a conceptual diagram of second subzone 2802 b of FIG. 28A. Second subzone 2802 b is shown comprising vehicle-position data points 3302 each thereof indicative of a position of one or more vehicles that have entered second subzone 2802 b at one point in time.

Illustrated in FIG. 34A is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary process 3400 that may be implemented at block 2611 for generating second subzone-related features for a second subzone.

At block 3404, process 3400 includes processing second vehicle data and second subzone data corresponding to a second subzone for selecting a first subset of second vehicle data.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a provides second vehicle data, 3401, including a second subset of raw vehicle data selected from second historical vehicle data 2620 corresponding to second traffic zone 3100 and data interpolated therefrom. Next, traffic analytics system 104 a processes second vehicle data 3401 and second subzone data 2806 b corresponding to second subzone 2802 b. Processing includes selecting a first subset of second vehicle data corresponding to second subzone 2802 b. Vehicle-position data points 3302 are a conceptual representation of the first subset of second vehicle data.

At block 3406, process 3400 includes analyzing and/or performing computations on the first subset of second vehicle data to form at least one feature. For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes the first subset of second vehicle data instances to form, for example, feature 3408.

FIG. 34B shows exemplary first subset of second vehicle data 3414 corresponding to a position within second subzone 2802 b. Position data 3418 of each second vehicle data instance 3416 is represented by a vehicle-position data point 3302 as shown in FIG. 33. In this example second subzone-related features formed by processing the first subset of second vehicle data are indicative of attributes/measurements of vehicle operating data of vehicles while operating in second subzone 2802 b. For example, vehicles having corresponding device IDs ID1, ID2, ID3, and ID4, For descriptive purposes only 4 vehicles are shown to have entered second subzone 2802 a. In practice however, the number of vehicles that may enter a second subzone may be greater or less than four.

Some specific and non-limiting examples of the second subzone-related features are provided in Table 6 below.

TABLE 6 Second Subzone-related Features Minimum vehicle speed Maximum vehicle speed Average vehicle speed Median vehicle speed Standard deviation of vehicle speed Minimum ignition Maximum ignition Total number of ignitions on Total number of ignitions off Average number of ignitions Ignition ratio Total number of vehicle visits Average number of visits/vehicle Minimum number of vehicle visits/day Maximum number of vehicle visits/day Average number of vehicle visits/day Median number of vehicle visits/day Standard deviation of number of vehicle visits/day Minimum unique number of vehicle visits/day Maximum unique number of vehicle visits/day Median unique number of vehicle visits/day Standard deviation of unique number of vehicle visits/day Average unique number of visits/day Total number of unique vehicle visits

Ignition state, for example ignition state 3419 in second vehicle data 3414, indicates whether a vehicle is in a driveable state or not. For example, an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle has an ignition state of on when the engine is on. An ICE vehicle has an ignition state of off when the engine is off, even if electrical power is provided to vehicle circuitry by the battery. In another example, an electric vehicle (EV) has an ignition state of on when electricity is provided to the EV's electric motor, whereas the ignition state is off when no electricity is provided to the EV's electric motor.

A minimum ignition feature of a second subzone has a value of 1 only when all vehicles that have entered a second subzone have an ignition state of 1. A minimum ignition feature of 1 may indicate that the vehicle way is not employed as a parking area.

A maximum ignition feature has a value of 0 only when all vehicles in a second subzone have an ignition state of off. A maximum ignition feature of 0 may indicate that the second subzone is a portion of vehicle way employed as a parking area.

The ignition ratio feature is defined as,

${{Ignition}\mspace{14mu} {ratio}} = \frac{{Total}\mspace{14mu} {number}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {ignitions}\mspace{14mu} {off}}{\begin{matrix} {\left( {{Total}\mspace{14mu} {number}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {ignitions}\mspace{14mu} {off}} \right) +} \\ \left( {{Total}\mspace{14mu} {number}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {ignitions}\mspace{14mu} {on}} \right) \end{matrix}}$

Referring now to FIG. 34C, shown is table 3420 of exemplary second subzone-related features and feature values based on the first subset of second vehicle data instances. Other second subzone-related features may be based on and/or are derived from the first subset of second vehicle data instances. Embodiments are not intended to be limited to the example features described herein.

In a second exemplary implementation, second subzone-related features may be based on and/or derived from a first subset of second vehicle data and a second subset of second vehicle data corresponding to second vehicle data temporally preceding and/or subsequent thereto for a same vehicle.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a selects a first subset of second vehicle data corresponding to second subzone 2802 a. Next, traffic analytics system 104 a selects a second subset of second vehicle data including second vehicle data instances temporally preceding and following second vehicle data instances corresponding to vehicles in the first subset of second vehicle data

For instance, shown in FIG. 35 is a simplified diagram of second subzone 2802 a and vehicle-position data point 3507 representing a vehicle position at T1 according to the first subset of second vehicle data. A dwell time of a vehicle within second subzone 2802 a may be determined by obtaining a second subset of second vehicle data corresponding to the same vehicle at a preceding point in time, T0, and a subsequent point in time, T2, represented by vehicle-position data points 3506 and 3508 respectively. As geographic coordinates of boundaries of second subzone 2802 b are known, the time TA (3510) between the time a vehicle enters second subzone 2802 a and arrives at point 3507, and the time TB (3512) between the time the vehicle leaves point 3507 and exits second subzone 2802 b may be determined. The dwell time, TDWELL, e.g., how long the vehicle is in a second subzone, may be calculated according to TDWELL=TA+TB. For each vehicle that enters second subzone 2802 a, traffic analytics system 104 a calculates a dwell time and processes the dwell time of each of the vehicles to generate features. For example, average dwell time, minimum dwell time, maximum dwell time, median dwell time and standard deviation of dwell time are based thereon or derived therefrom.

In a third exemplary implementation, second subzone-related features may be based on and/or derived from a first subset of second vehicle data and a third subset of second vehicle data corresponding to second vehicle data temporally subsequent thereto for a same vehicle. For example, second subzone-related features relate to travel time of a vehicle between a location within a second subzone and the first location at which the vehicle ignition state is off. In other words, the travel time between a position within a second subzone and a position the vehicle parks, i.e., time to park.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a selects a first subset of second vehicle data corresponding to second subzone 2802 a. Next, traffic analytics system 104 a selects a second subset of second vehicle data including second vehicle data instances temporally preceding second vehicle data instances corresponding to vehicles in the first subset of second vehicle data. Next, traffic analytics system 104 a selects a second subset of second vehicle data corresponding to the same vehicles in the first subset on the same path travelled thereby at a later point in time.

For instance, FIG. 36A shows a simplified diagram of path 3600 of a vehicle that has traversed second subzone 2802 b corresponding to the first subset of second vehicle data. Vehicle-position data point 3602 represents a position of the vehicle at T11 within second subzone 2802 b. The second subset of second vehicle data includes a plurality of temporally subsequent second vehicle data instances represented by vehicle-position data points 3604 at times T11-T24 corresponding to the same vehicle. Each thereof representing a new location of the same vehicle at consecutive points in time as the vehicle travels along path 3600. Vehicle-position data point 3606 at T14 represents the first location the vehicle ignition is turned off, indicating that the car has parked.

The time to park from position 3602 to 3606 may be calculated as TIMETOPARK=T24−T11. For each vehicle that enters second subzone 2802 b, traffic analytics system 104 a calculates the time to park and generates second subzone-related features such as, average time to park, minimum time to park, maximum time to park, median time to park, and standard deviation of time to park.

FIG. 36B shows an exemplary third subset of second vehicle data 3610 corresponding to vehicle-position data points 3604 at times T11-T24. In some instances, a vehicle ignition is ON and the speed is 0 km/hr, such as at T19, corresponding to third subset data instance 3612. For example, a vehicle may not be moving yet the ignition is on, e.g., at red lights, stop signs, heavy traffic (stop-and-go), picking up passengers, going through a drive through, among others.

Road Network Zone-Related Features

According to an embodiment, road network zone-related features may be based on and/or derived from a fourth subset of second vehicle data instances associated with the road network zone and/or second subzone-related features. Table 7 below lists specific and non-limiting examples of such road network zone-related features. These road network zone-related features may be determined for each second subzone of a road network zone.

TABLE 7 Road Network Zone-Related Features Road Network Zone Minimum Ignition OFF Road Network Zone Maximum Ignition OFF Road Network Zone Average Vehicle Speed Road Network Zone Maximum Vehicle Speed Road Network Zone Minimum Vehicle Speed Road Network Zone Average Number of Unique Visits/Day Road Network Zone Minimum Number of Unique Visits/Day Road Network Zone Maximum Number of Unique Visits/Day Road Network Zone Average Median Number of Unique Visits/Day Road Network Zone Total Average Number of Unique Visits/Day

In a first instance, road network zone average speed may be determined by selecting a fourth subset of second vehicle data instances corresponding to a road network zone and calculating an average speed therefrom.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a selects a fourth set of second vehicle data corresponding to road network zone 2800 and processes speed data thereof for determining the average speed of a vehicle traversing road network zone 2800.

In a second instance, road network zone average speed may be determined by calculating an average of the average speed second subzone-related features of all second subzones in a road network zone.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes an average speed second subzone-related feature associated with each second subzone 2802 of road network zone 2800 for determining an average speed thereof.

According to an embodiment, other road network zone-related features may be based on and/or derived from a fifth subset of second vehicle data instances associated with the road network zone. Table 8 lists specific and non-limiting examples of such road network zone-related features. These road network zone-related features may be determined for each second subzone of the road network zone.

TABLE 8 Road Network Zone-Related Features Road Network Zone Total Number of Visits Road Network Zone Total Number of Unique Visits

In an exemplary implementation, ‘road network zone total number of visits’ feature may be determined by selecting a fifth subset of second vehicle data instances corresponding to a road network zone and calculating the total number of vehicles that correspond to the road network zone.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a selects a fifth subset of second vehicle data instances corresponding to road network zone 2800 and processes the fifth subset for determining the total number of vehicles that have traversed therethrough.

According to an embodiment, other road network zone-related features may be based on and/or derived from another portion of second subzone-related features. Table 9 lists specific and non-limiting examples of such road network zone-related features. These road network zone-related features may be determined for each second subzone of the road network zone.

TABLE 9 Road Network Zone-Related Features Road Network Zone Average Time to Park Road Network Zone Maximum Time to Park Road Network Zone Minimum Time to Park Road Network Zone Maximum Dwell Time Road Network Zone Minimum Dwell Time Road Network Zone Median Dwell Time Road Network Zone Average Dwell Time Road Network Zone Minimum Number of Unique Visits Road Network Zone Average Number of Unique Visits Road Network Zone Maximum Number of Unique Visits Road Network Zone Average Total Number of Visits Road Network Zone Maximum Total Number of Visits Road Network Zone Minimum Total Number of Visits

For instance, ‘road network zone average dwell time’ feature may be determined by calculating an average of the average dwell time second subzone-related features of all second subzones in a road network zone.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes an average dwell time second subzone-related feature associated with each second subzone 2802 of road network zone 2800 for determining an average dwell time for road network zone 2800.

Second Subzone-Road Network Zone-Related Features

According to an embodiment, second subzone-road network zone-related features may be based on and/or derived from a portion of second subzone-related features in relationship to a portion of road network zone-related features. Such relationship-based second subzone-road network zone-related features are determined for each second subzone of the road network zone.

Specific and non-limiting examples of relationship-based features are listed in Table 10 below.

TABLE 10 Second Subzone-Road Network Zone-Related Features (SSRNZR) SSRNZR Minimum Vehicle Speed Ratio SSRNZR Average Vehicle Speed Ratio SSRNZR Maximum Vehicle Speed Ratio SSRNZR Minimum Ignition Off Ratio SSRNZR Maximum Ignition Off Ratio SSRNZR Maximum Dwell Time Ratio SSRNZR Minimum Dwell Time Ratio SSRNZR Average Median Dwell Time Ratio SSRNZR Average Dwell Time Ratio SSRNZR Minimum Time to Park Ratio SSRNZR Average Time to Park Ratio SSRNZR Maximum Time to Park Ratio SSRNZR Minimum Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio SSRNZR Maximum Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio SSRNZR Average Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio SSRNZR Minimum Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio SSRNZR Maximum Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio SSRNZR Average Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio SSRNZR Total Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio SSRNZR Average Median Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio SSRNZR Minimum Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio SSRNZR Maximum Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio SSRNZR Average Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio SSRNZR Total Number of Vehicle Unique Visits Ratio SSRNZR Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio

For instance, second subzone-road network zone-related feature average speed ratio may be determined by calculating the ratio of second subzone-related feature average speed to road network zone-related feature, road network zone average speed.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes second subzone-related feature average speed for road network zone 2800 and road network zone-related feature average speed road network zone 2800 for determining a ratio thereof for generating a road network zone average speed for road network zone 2800.

Spatial-Related Features

According to an embodiment, spatial-related features may be based on and/or derived from spatial relationship data of a second subzone to the road network zone. According to an embodiment, spatial-related features may be based on and/or derived from a spatial relationship data of a second subzone to the plurality of second subzones, or a portion thereof, of a road network zone.

For instance, for each second subzone, a feature may be based on and/or derived from a number of adjacent second subzones adjacent thereto (e.g., the number of neighbours thereof).

Shown in FIG. 37A is a conceptual diagram of a portion 3700 of road network zone 2800 indicated by A-A in FIG. 28A. Portion 3700 includes second subzone 3702 having 8 neighbours, second subzones 3704. FIG. 37B is also a conceptual diagram of the same portion 3700 of road network zone 2800 including second subzone 2802 a having 4 neighbours, second subzone 2802 b and second subzones 3708.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes second subzone data 2806 and implements a Geohash neighbours function, such as function 1114, for determining the number of neighbours of each second subzone 2802 of road network zone 2800 that are present therein. For instance, traffic analytics system 104 a determines the value of the number of neighbours feature of second subzone 3702 is 8 and second subzone 2802 a is 4. Alternatively, spatial-related features for second subzones 3702 and 2802 a may have values derived from a number of neighbours feature.

In another instance, for each second subzone, a spatial-related feature may be based on and/or derived from the number of neighbours of the second subzone (e.g., number of Geohash neighbours) having second vehicle data corresponding to a location therein.

FIG. 37A shows second subzone 3702 having 8 neighbours, second subzones 3702. If no second vehicle data corresponds to 3 of those neighbours, the value of the feature is 5. In other words, if vehicles did not enter 3 of the 8 second subzones, the number of neighbours having second vehicle data corresponding to a location therein is 5.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes second subzone data 2806 and implements a Geohash neighbours function, such as function 1114, for determining neighbours of second subzone 3702 of road network zone 2800. Next, traffic analytics system 104 a processes second vehicle data corresponding to each of the neighbours of second subzone 3702 for determining how many thereof have vehicles traversed.

Spatial-related features are determined for each second subzone of the plurality of second subzones for a road network zone. Specific and non-limiting examples of other spatial-related features include features derived from proximity of a second subzone from a traffic light, particular business, and pedestrian area. Example features are not intended to limit embodiments to the features described herein.

FIG. 38A shows a conceptual diagram of exemplary features 3800 generated for a second subzone 2802, such as second subzone 2802 b.

According to some embodiments, features generated at block 2611 are generated based on classifier data. For instance, classifier data may define features needed to ensure accurate classification of second subzones by a classifier.

Block 2612

Next, at block 2612, subprocess 2600 includes generating unlabelled data including features generated for each of the plurality of second subzones of the road network zone.

For example, shown in FIG. 38B is a conceptual diagram of exemplary unlabelled data 3802 generated by traffic analytics system 104 a. Each instance thereof includes features corresponding to one of each of the plurality of second subzones 2802 in road network zone 2800. For example, unlabelled data instance 3802 a includes features corresponding to second subzone 2802 a, unlabelled data instance 3802 b includes to features corresponding to second subzone 2802 b, and so on.

Block 2614

Next, at block 2614, subprocess 2600 includes processing the unlabelled data by a classifier including providing unlabelled data to the classifier for classifying each of the plurality of second subzones of the road network zone as one of a portion of a vehicle way and not a portion of a vehicle way and generating classification data indicative thereof.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a implements a classifier 3902 shown in FIG. 39A and provides unlabelled data 3802 thereto. Classifier 3902 classifies each subzone 2802 and provides classification data 3904 indicating the classification of each second subzone 2802 of road network zone 2800. FIG. 39B is a conceptual diagram of exemplary classification data 3904 illustrating each second subzone 2802 has been assigned a label 3908, i.e., 1 or 0, indicating whether the area corresponding to a second subzone 2802 is a portion of a vehicle way, or not a portion of a vehicle way, respectively. Conceptual diagrams of unlabelled data 3802 and classification data 3904 are provided for example purposes only and embodiments are not intended to be limited to the examples described herein.

Now referring to FIG. 40A, shown is another diagram of road network zone 2800 illustrating second subzones 2802 labelled as a portion of a vehicle way shaded grey. For instance, second subzone 2802 b is labelled as not a portion of a vehicle way and appears white, whereas second subzone 2802 j is labelled as a vehicle way and is shaded grey. Parts of a road network are visually identifiable in FIG. 40A, such as, cross streets 4002 and 4004, and crescent 4012, among others. An aggregation of the plurality of second subzones 2802 labelled as a portion of vehicle way indicates a location of road network 4020.

Block 2616

Finally, at block 2616, subprocess 2600 includes defining the road network.

According to one embodiment, defining the road network includes processing classification data for determining each of the plurality of second subzones of a road network zone labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, and providing data indicative thereof.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes classification data 3904 and generates data indicative of each Geohash labelled as a portion of a vehicle way. Such data indicates the plurality of Geohashes that defines road network 4020 representing the geographic location of road network 4020.

According to another embodiment, defining the road network includes processing classification data for determining geographic boundaries of the road network and generating data representative thereof. A road network may be defined by a geospatial file (e.g., shape file (.shp), GeoJSON (.geojson)), or other file format, indicating geographical coordinates of boundaries delineating roads forming the road network. Alternatively, a road network may be defined in another data format.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes classification data 3904 by converting each of the plurality of Geohashes that defines road network 4020 (i.e., Geohashes classified as a portion of a vehicle way) into a plurality of polygons. For instance, traffic analytics system 104 a converts each Geohash having a label ‘1’ into a first GeoJSON file, each representing a polygon, for forming a plurality of first GeoJSON files. Alternatively, traffic analytics system 104 a converts each Geohash having a label ‘1’ into a single first GeoJSON file representing a plurality of polygons. Geohashes may be converted, for example, into one or more first GeoJSON files via a Geohash to GeoJSON converter.

Next, traffic analytics system 104 a aggregates the plurality of polygons represented by each of the first GeoJSON files to form a second GeoJSON file. For example, traffic analytics system 104 a may process the plurality of first GeoJSON files with a postGIS ST_UNION function that provides the geometry of the union of each of the plurality of polygons to form a second GeoJSON file 4006, shown in FIG. 40B. Alternatively, a single GeoSJON file representing a plurality of polygons is processed with a postGIS ST_UNION function for forming a second GeoJSON file. Second GeoJSON file 4006 indicates geographical boundaries of road network 4020. An exemplary conceptual diagram of road network 4020 indicated by second GeoJSON file 4006 is shown in FIG. 40C.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that there are various techniques for defining data indicative of geographical coordinates of boundaries of a road network.

Classification of second subzones as either a portion of a vehicle way, e.g., 1, or not a portion of a vehicle way, e.g., 0, may result in some second subzones to be classified as a false positive or false negative. For instance, referring again to road network zone 2800 in FIG. 40A, shown are incorrectly classified second subzones 4008, i.e., false positives, and second subzones 4010, i.e., false negatives. Mislabelling/incorrect classification of second subzones may be attributed to inaccuracy of the classifier used for classifying second subzones. Another factor that may contribute to mislabelling of a second subzone is that the second subzone is on the borderline of the decision boundary of the classifier. Furthermore, inaccurate position data due to GPS error may also cause incorrect classification of second subzones. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that mislabelling of a second subzone may be caused by other factors.

Process 4100

Shown in FIG. 41 is a flow diagram of a process 4100 for relabelling second subzones of a road network zone that have been incorrectly classified by a classifier. Process 4100 is described in greater detail below with reference to FIGS. 42A-42J.

FIGS. 42A, 42D, 42E, 42G, and 42I include conceptual diagrams of a simplified road network zone 4202 comprising second subzones 4203 associated with an exemplary road network. In this example second subzones 4203 are in the form of Geohashes. A road network zone comprising 20 second subzones is described in this example for explanation purposes only and embodiments are not intended to be limited to the examples described herein. In practise, a road network zone may comprise any number of second subzones, e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, and billions.

FIG. 42B shows exemplary classification data 4212 indicating a second subzone ID 4213 for each geohash 4203 in road network zone 4202 and a label/classification 4214 thereof. Each second subzone ID 4213 corresponds to a Geohash string of that particular Geohash. For instance, second subzone ID 4213 a corresponds to Geohash string ‘GeohashString_a’ for Geohash 4203 a, second subzone ID 4213 b corresponds to Geohash string ‘GeohashString_b’ for Geohash 2802 b, and so on. A label/classification 4214 of each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202 is indicated by the shade thereof, as shown in FIG. 42A. For example, second subzone 4203 b is shaded grey indicating a classification of a portion of a vehicle way, e.g., 1, whereas second subzone 4203 a is not shaded grey (i.e., white) indicating a classification of not a portion of a vehicle way, e.g., 0.

Block 4102

Beginning at block 4102, process 4100 includes determining the number of second subzone neighbours labelled as a portion of a vehicle way for each second subzone in a road network zone, to form a first neighbour count.

For instance, traffic analytics system 104 a first determines the neighbours of each second subzone 4203 in road network zone 4202, for example, by inputting a Geohash string associated with each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202 into a Geohash neighbours function. An exemplary Geohash neighbours function is function 1114 described with respect to FIG. 11E. For example, neighbours of second subzone 4203 a, having a second subzone ID corresponding to Geohash string ‘GeohashString_a’, include second subzones 4203 e, 4203 f and 4203 b having second subzone IDs corresponding to ‘GeohashString_e’, ‘GeohashString_f’, and ‘GeohashString_b’. Traffic analytics system 104 a generates neighbour data 4215 indicating neighbours of each Geohash 4203 in road network zone 4202, as shown in FIG. 42C.

Next, traffic analytics system 104 a processes classification data 4212 and neighbours data 4215 associated with each second subzone 4203 labelled as a portion of a vehicle way for generating first neighbour count data. For example, second subzone 4203 b has 1 second subzone neighbour, second subzone 4203 g, labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, and thus has a first neighbour count of 1. A first neighbour count indicative of first neighbour count data for each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202 is indicated in FIG. 42D within the respective second subzone. For instance, second subzone 4203 b has a first neighbour count of 1 and second subzone 4203 g has a first neighbour count of 3, as shown.

Block 4103

Next, at block 4103, process 4100 includes summing first neighbour counts of second subzone neighbours labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, for each second subzone labelled as a portion of a vehicle way of a road network zone, to form a neighbour sum.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes first neighbour count data for each of second subzones 4203 to form neighbour sum data for each thereof. For example, second subzone 4203 b has one second subzone neighbour labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, second subzone 4204 g, having a first neighbour count of 3. The sum of first neighbour counts of second subzone 4203 b is 3. Traffic analytics system 104 a forms neighbour sum data indicative of a neighbour sum, 3, for second subzone 4203 b. In another example, second subzone 4203 g has 3 second subzone neighbours labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, second subzone 4204 b, second subzone 4204 j, and second subzone 42041, each having a first neighbour count of 1, 3 and 3 respectively. The sum of first neighbour counts of second subzone 4203 g is a neighbour sum of 7 (i.e., 1+3+3). Traffic analytics system 104 a forms neighbour sum data indicative of a neighbour sum 7 for second subzone 4203 g. A neighbour sum indicative of neighbour sum data for each second subzone 4203 is indicated in FIG. 42E within a respective second subzone.

Block 4106

At block 4106, process 4100 includes, for each second subzone labelled as a portion of a vehicle way in a road network zone having one of a corresponding first neighbour count less than 3 or a neighbour sum less than 9, relabelling the second subzone as not a portion of a vehicle way.

For example, for each second subzone 4203 in road network zone 4202 labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, traffic analytics system 104 a processes associated first neighbour count data and associated neighbour sum data to determine whether the first neighbour count is less than 3 and/or the neighbour sum is less than 9. If an associated first neighbour count is less than 3 and/or associated neighbour sum data is less than 9, traffic analytics system 104 a modifies the label corresponding thereto indicating that the second subzone 4203 is not a portion of a vehicle way.

For instance, first neighbour count for second subzone 4203 b is 1, as indicated in FIG. 42D, which is less than 3. As such, traffic analytics system 104 a changes the label associated with second subzone 4203 b from 1 to 0. Alternatively, neighbour sum for second subzone 4203 b is 3, as indicated in FIG. 42E, which is less than 9. As such, traffic analytics system 104 a would also change the label associated with second subzone 4203 b, from 1 to 0.

In another instance, first neighbour count for second subzone 4203 g is 3, as indicated in FIG. 42D, which is not less than 3. As such, traffic analytics system 104 a does not change the label associated with second subzone 4203 g from 1 to 0. However, neighbour sum for second subzone 4204 g is 7, as indicated in FIG. 42E, which is less than 9. As such, traffic analytics system 104 a changes the label associated with second subzone 4203 g, from 1 to 0.

Traffic analytics system 104 a modifies classification data 4212 to form classification data 4212′ shown in FIG. 42F. Classification data 4212′ is indicative of a present label of each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202. Classification of each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202 based on classification data 4212′ is indicated in FIG. 42G. For example, in FIG. 42G second subzones 4302 b and 4203 g are white whereas in FIG. 42E second subzones 4302 b and 4203 g are shaded grey.

Block 408

Next at block 4108, process 4100 includes determining a number of second subzone neighbours labelled as a portion of a vehicle way for each second subzone labelled not a portion of a vehicle way, for forming a second neighbour count for each thereof.

For instance, traffic analytics system 104 a processes classification data 4212′ and neighbours data 4215 associated with each second subzone 4203 labelled as not portion of a vehicle way for generating second neighbour count data. For example, referring again to FIG. 42G, traffic analytics system 104 a determines second subzone 4203 g has 2 second subzone neighbours labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, second subzones 4203 j and 42031 and forms second neighbour count data indicative of a second neighbour count of 2. In another example, traffic analytics system 104 a determines second subzone 4203 k has 5 second subzone neighbours, labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, second subzones 4203 j, 42031, 4203 n, 4203 o and 4203 p, and forms second neighbour count data indicative of a second neighbour count of 5. Traffic analytics system 104 a forms second neighbour count data indicative of second neighbour counts for each second subzone 4203. A second neighbour count for each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202 is indicated in FIG. 42G within a respective second subzone, as shown.

Block 4110

Next, at block 4110, process 4100 includes relabelling each second subzone classified as not a portion of a vehicle way having a second neighbour count greater than 4 as a portion of a vehicle way.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes second neighbour count data for each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202 to determine whether a second neighbour count is greater than 4. In this example, second subzone 4203 k has a second neighbour count of 5, which is greater than 4. As such traffic analytics system 104 a modifies classification data 4212′ by changing the label of second subzone 4203 k from 0 to 1. All other second subzones 4203 in road network zone 4202 have a second neighbour count which is not greater than 4.

Next, traffic analytics system 104 a modifies classification data 4212′ to form classification data 4212″ shown in FIG. 42H indicative of a present label of each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202. Classification of second subzones 4203 of road network zone 4202 based on classification data 4212″ is indicated in FIG. 42I. For example, second subzone 4303 k is no longer white and is shaded grey.

Block 4112

At block 4112, process 4100 includes counting the number of second subzone neighbours labelled as a portion of a vehicle way for each second subzone labelled as a portion of a vehicle way to form a third neighbour count for each thereof.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes classification data 4212″ of each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202 and neighbour data 4215. Processing includes, for each second subzone 4203 labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, determining the number of second subzone neighbours thereof also labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, to form third neighbour count data. For instance, second subzone 4203 j has 3 second subzone neighbours labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, second subzones 4203 m, 4203 o, 4203 k, and thus has a third neighbour count of 3. Traffic analytics system 104 a forms third neighbour count data indicative of a third neighbour count for each second subzone 4203 in road network zone 4202. A third neighbour count for each second subzone 4203 is indicated in FIG. 42I within a respective second subzone.

Block 4114

Finally, at block 4114, process 4100 includes, for each second subzone labelled as a portion of a vehicle way having a third neighbour count less than 3, relabelling the second subzone as not a portion of a vehicle way for modifying the classification data.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes third neighbour count data for each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202 labelled as a portion of a vehicle way for determining whether a second subzone 4203 has a third neighbour count less than 3. In this example, each of second subzones 4203 of road network zone 4202 has a third neighbour count 3 or greater. As such traffic analytics system 104 a does not relabel any second subzone 4203 as not a portion of a vehicle way.

In the present example, none of the second subzones 4203 labelled as a portion of a vehicle way have a third neighbour count less than 3, as shown in FIG. 42I. As such, traffic analytics system 104 a does not relabel any of the second subzones as not a portion of a vehicle way. However, if a second subzone currently labelled as a portion of a vehicle way has a third neighbour count of less than 3, that second subzone would be relabelled as not a portion of a vehicle way.

Next, traffic analytics system 104 a modifies classification data 4212″ to form classification data 4212′″ shown in FIG. 42J indicative of a present label of each second subzone 4203 of road network zone 4202. In this example, classification data 4212′″ is the same as classification data 4212″ as no second subzone labels were modified by traffic analytics system 104 a at block 4114.

According to an embodiment, subprocess 2600 may proceed to block 2615 prior to block 2616 wherein subprocess 2600 includes relabelling/reclassifying second subzones that were incorrectly classified at block 2614 and modifying the classification data to indicate the present classification thereof. For instance, process 4100 may be implemented at block 2615 for relabelling second subzones of a road network zone that have been incorrectly classified at block 2614.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a implements process 4100 at block 2615 including processing classification data 3904 at block 4102 and modifying classification data 4212′″ to form classified data 4300 at block 4144, as shown in FIG. 43.

Once second subzones have been relabelled at block 2615, subprocess 2600 proceeds to block 2616 including defining the road network based on the classification data.

For example, referring to FIG. 44A, shown is a conceptual diagram of road network zone 2800 illustrating road network 4020′ including second subzones 2802 shaded according to classification data 4300. For instance, second subzones 2802 labelled as a portion of a vehicle way are shaded grey and second subzones labelled as not a portion of a vehicle way not are shaded in grey (i.e., white.)

Referring again to FIG. 40A, shown are second subzones 4008 that have been incorrectly classified (i.e., mislabelled) as a portion of a vehicle way, (i.e., false positives). FIG. 40A also shows second subzones 4010 that have been incorrectly classified as not a portion of a vehicle way (i.e., false negatives).

Reclassification of subzones at block 2615 may provide more accurate classification data that may result in refined boundaries of the defined road network.

Once second subzones 2802 have been reclassified at block 2615, subprocess 2600 proceeds to block 2616 for defining the road network.

According to one embodiment, defining the road network includes processing classification data for determining each second subzone of a road network zone labelled as a portion of a vehicle way, and providing data indicative thereof.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes classification data 4300 and generates data indicative of each Geohash labelled as a portion of a vehicle way. Such data indicates a plurality of Geohashes that define road network 4020′ representing the geographic location of road network 4020′.

According to another embodiment, defining the road network includes processing classification data for determining geographic boundaries of the road network and generating data representative thereof. A road network may be defined by a geospatial file (e.g., shape file (.shp), GeoJSON (.geojson)), or other file format, indicating geographical coordinates of boundaries delineating roads forming the road network. Alternatively, a road network may be defined in another data format.

For example, traffic analytics system 104 a processes classification data 4300 by converting each of the plurality of Geohashes that defines road network 4020′ (i.e., Geohashes classified as a portion of a vehicle way) into a plurality of polygons. For instance, traffic analytics system 104 a converts each Geohash having a label ‘1’ into a first GeoJSON file, each representing a polygon, for forming a plurality of first GeoJSON files. Alternatively, traffic analytics system 104 a converts each Geohash having a label ‘1’ into a single first GeoJSON file representing a plurality of polygons. Geohashes may be converted, for example, into one or more first GeoJSON files via a Geohash to GeoJSON converter.

Next, traffic analytics system 104 a aggregates the plurality of polygons represented by each of the first GeoJSON files to form a second GeoJSON file. For example, traffic analytics system 104 a may process the plurality of first GeoJSON files with a postGIS ST_UNION function that provides the geometry of the union of each of the plurality of polygons to form the second GeoJSON file 4406, shown in FIG. 44B. Alternatively, a single GeoSJON file representing a plurality of polygons is processed with a postGIS ST_UNION function for forming a second GeoJSON file. Second GeoJSON file 4406 indicates geographical boundaries of road network 4020′. An exemplary conceptual diagram of road network 4020′ indicated by second GeoJSON file 4006 is shown in FIG. 44C.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that there are various techniques for defining data indicative of geographical coordinates of boundaries of a road network.

Included in the discussion above are a series of flow charts showing the steps and acts of various processes. The processing and decision blocks of the flow charts above represent steps and acts that may be included in algorithms that carry out these various processes. Algorithms derived from these processes may be implemented as software integrated with and directing the operation of one or more processors, may be implemented as functionally-equivalent circuits such as a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) circuit, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or may be implemented in any other suitable manner. It should be appreciated that the flow charts included herein do not depict the syntax or operation of any circuit or of any programming language or type of programming language. Rather, the flow charts illustrate the functional information one skilled in the art may use to fabricate circuits or to implement computer software algorithms to perform the processing of an apparatus carrying out the types of techniques described herein. It should also be appreciated that, unless otherwise indicated herein, the sequence of steps and/or acts described in each flow chart is merely illustrative of the algorithms that may be implemented and can be varied in implementations and embodiments of the principles described herein.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, the techniques described herein may be embodied in computer-executable instructions implemented as software, including as application software, system software, firmware, middleware, embedded code, or any other suitable type of computer code. Such computer-executable instructions may be written using any of several suitable programming languages and/or programming or scripting tools and may be compiled as executable machine language code or intermediate code that is executed on a framework or virtual machine.

Computer-executable instructions implementing the techniques described herein may, in some embodiments, be encoded on one or more computer-readable media to provide functionality to the media. Computer-readable media include magnetic media such as a hard disk drive, optical media such as a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), Blu-Ray disk, a persistent or non-persistent solid-state memory (e.g., Flash memory, Magnetic RAM, etc.), or any other suitable storage media. As used herein, “computer-readable media” (also called “computer-readable storage media”) refers to tangible storage media. Tangible storage media are non-transitory and have at least one physical, structural component. In a “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, at least one physical, structural component has at least one physical property that may be altered in some way during a process of creating the medium with embedded information, a process of recording information thereon, or any other process of encoding the medium with information. For example, a magnetization state of a portion of a physical structure of a computer-readable medium may be altered during a recording process.

While not illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 5A, and 5B, traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b and intelligent telematics system 500 a, 500 b may additionally have one or more components and peripherals, including input and output devices. These devices can be used, among other things, to present a user interface. Examples of output devices that can be used to provide a user interface include printers or display screens for visual presentation of output and speakers or other sound generating devices for audible presentation of output. Examples of input devices that can be used for a user interface include keyboards, and pointing devices, such as mice, touch pads, and digitizing tablets. As another example, traffic analytics system 104 a, 104 b and intelligent telematics system 500 a, 500 b may receive input information through speech recognition or in other audible format.

Embodiments have been described where the techniques are implemented in circuitry and/or computer-executable instructions. It should be appreciated that some embodiments may be in the form of a method or process, of which at least one example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method or process may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments. Various aspects of the embodiments described above may be used alone, in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing and is therefore not limited in its application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments.

Embodiments of the present invention provide one or more technical effects. In particular, the ability to repurpose raw vehicle data indicative of vehicle operating conditions originally intended for fleet management for use by a traffic analytics system and/or an intelligent telematics system for defining road networks. Using speed data and ignition state data of raw vehicle data for defining geographical boundaries of road networks. Implementing machine learning techniques using raw vehicle data to define the location of road networks. Provides alternative techniques compared to prior art for locating road networks. Such as, image and video capture and processing, GIS measurement techniques, gathering position data from targeted GPS devices, and gathering data uploaded data by the public. Ability to define locations of road networks without obtaining location data from 3rd party, performing complex imagine processing or extracting road network location data from a 3rd party website. Once locations of vehicle ways are determined, the ability to obtain traffic data and/or traffic metrics related to the vehicle way.

NOMENCLATURE

Vehicle: a transportation asset, some examples include: a car, truck, recreational vehicle, heavy equipment, tractor, and snowmobile.

Vehicle way: an area frequently used by vehicles, i.e., an area on the Earth's surface repeatedly employed by vehicles. A vehicle way may include an area employed by vehicles for movement and/or parking.

Location: a unique geographic location of an object on the Earth's surface.

Point location/Location of a point: defines a unique two-dimensional location of a point on the Earth's surface, for example, geographic coordinate pair, latitude/longitude.

Area location/Location of an area: a unique two-dimensional space on the Earth's surface.

Known area: an area of which the location thereof is defined.

Monitoring device: a device onboard a vehicle for detecting environmental operating conditions associated with a vehicle and transmitting raw vehicle data indicative thereof.

Raw vehicle data: data including vehicle operation information indicative of vehicle operating conditions and the date and time vehicle operating conditions were logged. Raw vehicle data may include information for identifying an onboard monitoring device and/or a vehicle the monitoring device is aboard.

Second historical vehicle data/Historical vehicle data: raw vehicle data collected over a period of time.

Second vehicle data/Vehicle data: raw vehicle data and data interpolated therefrom or raw vehicle data.

Zone: an area encompassing an associated vehicle way.

Road Network Zone: an area encompassing a road network.

Subzone/Second subzone: portion of a zone/portion of a road network zone.

Classifier: a classification model defined by using a machine learning technique for classifying an object. In context of this application, a classifier classifies a subzone (e.g., a known area) as a vehicle way class or not-vehicle way class.

Feature: data indicative of variables/attributes, or measurements of properties of a phenomenon being observed and/or data derived therefrom. In context of this application, a feature is a numerical representation of a subzone. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for defining a road network comprising: partitioning a road network area into a plurality of contiguous second subzones for defining a road network zone; selecting vehicle data indicative of vehicle operating conditions for a plurality of vehicles corresponding to the road network zone; for each of the plurality of contiguous second subzones, generating a plurality of features based on the vehicle data; generating unlabelled data including the plurality of features for each of the plurality of contiguous second subzones; processing the unlabelled data by a classifier generated using at least one machine learning technique for classifying each second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones as one of a portion of a vehicle way and not a portion of a vehicle way; forming classification data indicative of a classification of each of the plurality of contiguous second subzones; processing the classification data for determining a geographic location of the road network; and defining the road network including generating data indicative of the geographic location of the road network.
 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein generating data indicative of the geographic location of the road network comprises generating data indicative of geographic boundaries of the road network.
 3. The method according to claim 1 wherein partitioning the road network area into a plurality of contiguous second subzones comprises partitioning the road network into a plurality of contiguous second subzones according to a hierarchical geospatial indexing system.
 4. The method according to claim 1 wherein classifier data associated with the classifier defines dimensions of each of the plurality of contiguous second subzones.
 5. The method according to claim 1 wherein partitioning the road network area into a plurality of contiguous second subzones comprises partitioning the road network according to a Geohash indexing system.
 6. The method according to claim 5 wherein classifier data associated with the classifier defines a precision of Geohashes of the Geohash indexing system.
 7. The method according to claim 1 wherein selecting vehicle data indicative of vehicle operating conditions for a plurality of vehicles corresponding to the road network zone includes selecting raw vehicle data from second historical data corresponding to the road network zone.
 8. The method according to claim 1 wherein selecting vehicle data indicative of vehicle operating conditions for a plurality of vehicles corresponding to the road network zone includes selecting raw vehicle data from second historical data corresponding to the road network zone and interpolating data therefrom.
 9. The method according to claim 1 wherein selecting vehicle data indicative of vehicle operating conditions for a plurality of vehicles corresponding to the road network zone includes selecting raw vehicle data from second historical data corresponding to a second traffic zone and interpolating data therefrom.
 10. The method according to claim 9 wherein interpolating data is dependent on classifier data.
 11. The method according to claim 9 including defining a boundary of the second traffic zone at a predetermined distance from a boundary of the road network zone.
 12. The method according to claim 9 including defining a boundary of the second traffic zone at a distance defined by a user from a boundary of the road network zone.
 13. The method according to claim 9 including defining a boundary of the second traffic zone based on a data file indicating geographical coordinates of the boundary thereof.
 14. The method according to claim 1 wherein generating a plurality of features based on the vehicle data, for at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones, includes generating features defined by classifier data associated with the classifier.
 15. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the plurality of features based on the vehicle data, for at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones, includes generating a plurality of second subzone-related features from a first subset of vehicle data corresponding to a location within a contiguous second subzone.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein generating the plurality of second subzone-related features includes generating the plurality of second subzone-related features selected from a group of: minimum vehicle speed, maximum vehicle speed, average vehicle speed, median vehicle speed, standard deviation of vehicle speed, minimum ignition, maximum ignition, total number of ignitions on, total number of ignitions off, average number of ignitions, ignition ratio, minimum number of vehicle visits/day, maximum number of vehicle visits/day, average number of vehicle visits/day, median number of vehicle visits/day, standard deviation of number of vehicle visits/day, minimum unique number of vehicle visits/day, maximum unique number of vehicle visits/day, median unique number of vehicle visits/day, standard deviation of unique number of vehicle visits/day, average unique number of vehicle visits/day, total number of vehicle visits, total number of unique vehicle visits, and average number of visits/vehicle.
 17. The method of claim 15 wherein generating the plurality of second subzone-related features comprises generating the plurality of second subzone-related features from the first subset of vehicle data and a second subset of vehicle data including vehicle data for a same vehicle temporally subsequent thereto.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein generating the plurality of second subzone-related features comprises generating the plurality of second subzone-related features selected from a group of: average time to park, minimum time to park, maximum time to park, median time to park, and standard deviation of time to park.
 19. The method of claim 17 wherein generating the plurality of second subzone-related features comprises generating the plurality of second subzone-related features from the first subset of vehicle data and the second subset of vehicle data further including vehicle data for a same vehicle temporally preceding and subsequent thereto.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein generating the plurality of second subzone-related features comprises generating a plurality of second subzone-related features selected from a group of: average dwell time, minimum dwell time, maximum dwell time, median dwell time, and standard deviation of dwell time.
 21. The method of claim 15 wherein generating the plurality of features comprises generating road network zone-related features from a fourth subset of vehicle data instances corresponding to a position within the road network zone or from a portion of the plurality of second subzone-related features.
 22. The method of claim 21 wherein generating road network zone-related features comprises generating road network zone-related features selected from a group of: road network zone minimum ignition off, road network zone maximum ignition off, road network zone average vehicle speed, road network zone maximum vehicle speed, road network zone minimum vehicle speed, road network zone average number of unique visits/day, road network zone minimum number of unique visits/day, road network zone maximum number of unique visits/day, road network zone average median number of unique visits/day, and road network zone total average number of unique visits/day.
 23. The method of claim 21 wherein generating road network zone-related features comprises generating road network zone-related features from the portion of the plurality of second subzone-related features and are selected from a group of: road network zone average time to park, road network zone maximum time to park, road network zone minimum time to park, road network zone maximum dwell time, road network zone minimum dwell time, road network zone median dwell time, road network zone average dwell time, road network zone minimum number of unique visits, road network zone average number of unique visits, road network zone maximum number of unique visits, road network zone average total number of visits, road network zone maximum total number of visits, and road network zone minimum total number of visits.
 24. The method of claim 21 wherein generating road network zone-related features comprises generating road network zone-related features from a third subset of vehicle data instances corresponding to a position within a road network zone and are selected from a group of: road network zone total number of visits and road network zone total number of unique visits.
 25. The method of claim 21 wherein generating the plurality of features comprises generating second subzone-road network zone-related (SSRNZR) features from a relationship of the portion of the plurality of second subzone-related features to a portion of the road network zone-related features.
 26. The method of claim 25 wherein generating second subzone-road network zone-related features comprises generating second subzone-road network zone-related features selected from a group of: SSRNZR Minimum Vehicle Speed Ratio, SSRNZR Average Vehicle Speed Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Vehicle Speed Ratio, SSRNZR Minimum Ignition Off Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Ignition Off Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Dwell Time Ratio, SSRNZR Minimum Dwell Time Ratio, SSRNZR Average Median Dwell Time Ratio, SSRNZR Average Dwell Time Ratio SSRNZR Minimum Time to Park Ratio, SSRNZR Average Time to Park Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Time to Park Ratio, SSRNZR Minimum Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Average Number of Unique Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Minimum Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio, SSRNZR Average Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio, SSRNZR Total Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio, SSRNZR Average Median Unique Number of Vehicle Visits/Day Ratio, SSRNZR Minimum Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Maximum Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Average Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Total Number of Vehicle Unique Visits Ratio, SSRNZR Total Number of Vehicle Visits Ratio.
 27. The method according to claim 1 comprising, for at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone, obtaining spatial relationship data and generating at least one feature from the spatial relationship data.
 28. The method of claim 27 wherein obtaining spatial relationship data comprises obtaining spatial relationship data indicative of a number of contiguous second subzones adjacent the at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone.
 29. The method of claim 28 wherein the at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone is a Geohash.
 30. The method of claim 29 wherein obtaining spatial relationship data for the at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone comprises obtaining spatial relationship data indicative of a number of neighbours of the Geohash.
 31. The method of claim 27 wherein obtaining spatial relationship data for the at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone comprises obtaining spatial relationship data indicative of a number of contiguous second subzones adjacent to the at least a contiguous second subzone having vehicle data corresponding to a location therein.
 32. The method of claim 29 wherein obtaining spatial relationship data for the at least a contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of the road network zone comprises obtaining spatial relationship data indicative of a number of neighbours of the Geohash having vehicle data corresponding to a location therein.
 33. The method according to claim 1 wherein processing the classification data for determining a geographic location of the road network includes processing classification data of each contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous subzones of a road network zone labelled as a portion of a vehicle way.
 34. The method according to claim 33 wherein generating data indicative of the geographic location of the road network includes generating data indicative of each contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones of a road network zone labelled as a portion of a vehicle way.
 35. The method according to claim 1 wherein generating data indicative of the geographic location of the road network includes generating data indicative of geographical boundaries thereof.
 36. The method according to claim 1 wherein processing the classification data for determining a geographic location of the road network includes steps of: a) for each contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones classified as a portion of a vehicle way, forming first neighbour count data indicative of a number of neighbours thereof classified as a portion of a vehicle way; summing first neighbour count data of each neighbour thereof for forming neighbour sum data; dependent on one of a first neighbour count less than 3 and a neighbour sum less than 9, modifying the classification data associated therewith to indicate a classification of the contiguous second subzone as not a portion of a vehicle way; b) for each contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones classified as a not a portion of a vehicle way, forming second neighbour count data indicative of a number of neighbours thereof classified as a portion of a vehicle way; dependent on a second neighbour count greater than 4, modifying the classification data associated therewith to indicate a classification of the contiguous second subzone as a portion of a vehicle way; c) for each contiguous second subzone of the plurality of contiguous second subzones classified as a portion of a vehicle way, forming third neighbour count data indicative of a number of neighbours thereof classified as a portion of a vehicle way; and dependent on a third neighbour count less than 3, modifying the classification data associated therewith to indicate the classification of the contiguous second subzone as not a portion of a vehicle way. 